Ottumwa, IA – In one of the most thrilling finishes in program history, No. 2 Indian Hills Women's Soccer defeated No. 3 Iowa Lakes Community College in penalty kicks to advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Women's Soccer Region XI Championship.

 

The Warriors and Lakers played to a 3-3 draw through regulation and two 10-minute overtime sessions before deciding the semifinal matchup in a shootout. The Warriors secured three goals in the penalty kick session, including the game-winner from freshman goalkeeper Sara Cogoli (Erbusco, Italy/IIS Luigi Einaudi) who also stopped two penalty kicks to secure the victory. 

 

With the victory, the Warriors advance to their fourth consecutive NJCAA Region XI title match against Iowa Western Community College at 2:00 PM on Sunday afternoon. The Reivers have ousted Indian Hills in each of the last three title matches, including last year's thrilling 4-3 title game.

 

Wednesday's contest provided all of the dramatics of a postseason matchup. The Lakers, who defeated Indian Hills in both of the team's two regular season matchups, struck first with a goal at the 16:19 mark of the first half, a lead that Iowa Lakes carried into halftime.

Needing a spark in the second frame, the Warriors turned to sophomore Mifumi Sasanuma (Tokyo, Japan/Shutoku). The midfielder found daylight in the 62nd minute and delivered a strike from nearly 40 yards out to net the equalizer. Less than four minutes later, Sasanuma connected on a free kick outside the box for her eighth goal of the year and ignited the Warriors with a 2-1 lead.

 

The lead was short-lived as Iowa Lakes' Alexis Vasquez, the conference's leading goal scorer, netted a pair of goals in a 10-minute span to force Indian Hills to play from behind with just under nine minutes remaining. The Warriors then turned to its leading goal scorer on the year Mickey Stephens (Centerville, IA/Centerville) as the freshman received a through ball from Ikumi Okumura (Edogawa, Japan/Murata) at the 85:04 mark and beat the Lakers' keeper to tie the game at three and eventually force overtime. The goal was Stephens' 11th of the year.

 

After a pair of scoreless overtime sessions that saw Cogoli make a spectacular save along the way, the match came down to penalty kicks. Iowa Lakes converted its first attempt while Okumura tied the shootout with a goal on the Warriors' first attempt. Cogoli denied the Lakers' second shot before Sasanuma's strike put Indian Hills ahead 2-1. Cogoli stopped a second consecutive shot while the Warriors missed its third attempt. In the fourth shootout, Iowa Lakes' goalie missed high which set the stage for Cogoli. The freshman delivered a high-rising shot from the spot and found the back of the net to seal the victory for the Warriors.

 

Cogoli finished the night with three saves to go along with the two penalty shot saves.

 

The multi-goal effort from Sasanuma was the sophomore's first-career two-goal performance. Sasanuma has now tallied eight goals on the season for Indian Hills.

 

Iowa Western defeated Iowa Central Community college 8-1 on Wednesday afternoon to secure its spot in the region final. Sunday's match will be played at the Reiver Sports Complex and the winner will host the NJCAA Central District Championship November 5 for a shot at a national tournament berth.

 

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