Arkansas City, KS – The No. 3 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Soccer team scored one of its biggest wins in program history as the Warriors knocked off No. 4 Cowley College (KS) 2-1 on the road Wednesday afternoon. The Warriors remain unbeaten on the year at 8-0-1.
The Warriors secured the top-five victory with a late second half goal from freshman Diego Lazaro (Laval, Canada/Horizon-Jeunesse). The win gave Indian Hills its fourth victory over a top-five nationally ranked team over the last three seasons. In the team's last eight matchups against a top-five opponent, the Warriors are 4-2-2 overall.
In the first all-time meeting between Indian Hills and Cowley, the Warriors prevailed to hand the Tigers (6-1-1) their first defeat of the year. Wednesday's match proved to be the first contest between two top-five teams in the nation this year.
In a highly contested matchup, Cowley outshot the Warriors 18-14 on the day, but both sides were able to fire seven shots on net. The Warriors were able to stave off 16 corner kick attempts from the Tigers to leave the Sunflower State with a victory.
"This is a big week for us," stated head coach Zac Newton. "We have been telling the guys that this week was going to be tough. This week will be an evaluation of where we are and what we need to do to get to the national tournament and in order to prepare for it we need to face the best in the country, and Cowley is a fantastic opponent for us to test ourselves against. Our guys performed and worked hard to grind out a 2-1 win against a hard-fighting Cowley side that made the game difficult. Thrilled to come home with the win!"
The Warriors opened up the scoring in the 30th minute as Daniel Mulero (Asturias, Spain/Salesianos Santo Angel Aviles), this week's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, danced in the box to elude a series of defenders before chipping a shot above the outstretched arms of the Cowley keeper. Indian Hills maintained its lead until the Tigers hit paydirt at the 43:42 mark after putting home a loose ball in the box.
The two teams entered the second half deadlocked at one, but it was Lazaro who provided the eventual game-winner. Sophomore Lucas Bauer (Oldenburg, Germany/IGS Kreyenbruck) slipped a pass to the right side of the net that found a streaking Lazaro who buried the first-touch with a low-lying shot to the near corner, his second goal of the year.
The Warrior defense contained the Tigers down the stretch to secure the win. Sophomore Bernardo Manzano (Palmas, Brazil/Layton Christian Academy) picked up the win in net to improve to 7-0-1 on the year. Manzano stopped four shots in the victory.
Mulero, who swept both the NJCAA and Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) weekly honors this week, has now scored a goal in six consecutive contests, tallying 19 points along the way. The sophomore midfielder has recorded 23 points on the year, third-most in the nation.
The Warriors' road trip continues with a date at Illinois Central Community College, ranked No. 13 in the latest national polls, on Saturday afternoon in Peoria, IL. Kick-off is set for 12:00 PM from the CougarPlex Field.
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