Ottumwa, IA – Freshman Daniele Verdirosi's (Rome, Italy/Araniti) first-career hat trick carried the Indian Hills Men's Soccer team to a 3-1 upset victory over No. 6 Iowa Lakes Community College on Sunday. The Warriors improve to 8-4-0 overall and 2-1-0 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play.
Verdirosi netted a pair of goals in the first half before converting a penalty kick early in the second half for the trifecta. The freshman has now tallied 11 goals in his last eight matches, scoring in all but one contest during the stretch. Verdirosi's 12 goals on the year lead the ICCAC and rank second among all National Junior College Athletic Conference (NJCAA) goal scorers.
Sunday's win marked the first victory against an opponent ranked inside the top-six in the nation in program history for the Warriors. The win over a nationally ranked opponent is the first for the Warriors since defeating No. 15 Marshalltown Community College 2-1 on September 24, 2019 while the top-10 victory is the first since defeating No. 10 Iowa Central Community College on October 2, 2018.
As a team, the Warriors are tied for the most goals in the nation with 57 on the season, even with Montgomery College (MD). Six different individuals have tallied at least 10 points on the year, led by Verdirosi's 27.
Verdirosi put the Warriors on the board just 3:30 into the match after the freshman took advantage of a Laker turnover deep in the Warriors' offensive territory. Verdirosi squared up with the net and fired a shot from the top of the box to beat the keeper for the 1-0 lead.
With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Verdirosi once again used a Laker miscue to find the back of the net. A pass from Ron Becker (Tubingen, Germany/Evangelisches Firstwald Gymnasium) found Verdirosi who slipped past the defense to find an opening. After beating the keeper 1-o-1, Verdirosi buried the shot to double the lead heading into halftime.
The Lakers found success early in the second half with a goal in the 52nd minute to cut the deficit in half until Verdirosi's number was called once again. The freshman was tackled in the box to earn a penalty kick, an opportunity that resulted in the hat trick and the final score of the game.
Sophomore Matteo Scarduzio (San Secondo Parmense, Italy/Fabio Bocchialini) stopped six shots in net to improve to 4-2-0 on the year for the Warriors.
The Warriors will be tested once again in its next match with a trip to No. 1 nationally ranked Iowa Western Community College. The Warriors fell in last year's NJCAA Region XI Semifinal round 2-1 in extra time as the Reivers eventually went on to win the national title. The two teams will meet in Council Bluffs, IA at 1:00 PM on September 28.
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Thanks to our friends at the Ottumwa Soccer Club for joining us at today's Indian Hills Men's Soccer and Indian Hills Women's Soccer doubleheader!#WeAreWarriors #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/agw16AAHTr
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) September 25, 2022
