Great Bend, KS – In its first test as the No. 1 nationally ranked team in the nation, the Indian Hills Men's Soccer squad ran past Otero Junior College (CO) 2-0 on the opening day of the Barton Classic. The Warriors move to 10-0-1 on the year.

Deadlocked at zero entering the second half, the Warriors used back-to-back goals in quick succession to pull away from the Rattlers. Despite being outshot by Otero, the Warriors made the most of their opportunities, capitalizing on Otero miscues. Indian Hills moves to 1-0-1 all-time vs. the Rattlers.

Following a scoreless opening half, the Warriors hit paydirt just 4:53 into the seocnd half. Sophomore Jeremie Truelle (Nosy-Be, Madagascar/Lycee Saint Joseph Pierre Rouge) corralled a loose ball 25-yards out from the net and buried his third touch that bent around the Otero defense for the first goal of the game. The goal was Truelle's first-career tally for the Warriors.

Indian Hills struck again just 3:13 later as Truelle forced an Otero turnover before slipping a pass to Diego Lazaro (Laval, Canada/Horizon-Jeunesse). Lazaro, this week's Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) DI Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week, fired his first touch from nearly the identical spot of Truelle's goal that found the far post on a line for a 2-0 advantage. Lazaro has now tallied a goal in three consecutive matches for the Warriors.

Sophomore Bernardo Manzano (Palmas, Brazil/Layton Christian Academy) stopped a season-high seven shots in the win for the Warriors. The shutout was the fifth of the season for the Indian Hills defense, lowering the program's goals against average to 0.73 on the year.

The Warriors return to action on Thursday morning against host Barton Community College (KS), ranked No. 20 in this week's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Soccer poll. The Cougars tied with Otero 2-2 on Tuesday afternoon. Fans can tune into Thursday's match live: INDIAN HILLS VS. BARTON ($)

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