Ottumwa, IA – No. 19 Indian Hills Men's Soccer put together a valiant comeback, but fell short at home to visiting Lewis & Clark Community College 4-3 on Thursday afternoon. The Warriors fall to 9-6-0 overall on the year.
Freshman Daniele Verdirosi (Rome, Italy/Araniti) tallied five points on the day to help dig the Warriors out of an early deficit, but the Trailblazers prevailed down the stretch with a pair of second half goals to upend the home team. Despite the loss, the Warriors scored at least three goals in a match for the 11th time this season.
Coming off back-to-back overtime conference matches, the Warriors fell behind early as the Trailblazers took a commanding 2-0 lead in the first half. Lewis & Clark used a goal in the 29th minute and the 36th minute to carry the 2-0 advantage into halftime.
The Warriors' top scorer, Verdirosi entered the match to start the second half and made an immediate impact. The forward beat a defender 1-on-1 and fired a shot past the keeper for the team's first goal of the match at the 52:49 mark. Just 30 seconds later, Veridrosi was taken down in the box to earn a penalty kick. The freshman converted the shot from the spot to improve to 3-3 on penalty kicks this year.
The Trailblazers wasted little time breaking the tie with a goal just over five muntes later to take a 3-2 lead. Lewis & Clark tacked on another goal in the 76th minute to double its lead.
With less than three minutes to play, the Warriors made a push that resulted in another goal. Verdirosi dashed inside the box and played a through ball past the keeper to the foot of fellow freshman Ron Becker (Tubingen, Germany/Evangelisches Firstwald Gymnasium) who buried the shot for the team's third goal.
A last ditch effort in the closing minutes went for naught as the Warriors fell at home for just the second time this season.
Freshman Kaz Kromwijk (Schenkeldijk, Netherlands/Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum Kaptynweg) posted a career-high 11 saves on the day for the Warriors. Kromwijk made a series of point-blank saves throughout the match to keep the Warriors in contention
The Warriors return to Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) action on Sunday afternoon at home with a 1:00 PM match vs. Marshalltown Community College.
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WARRIORS FALL – No. 19-rated @ihccmsoc was upset by visiting Lewis & Clark this afternoon at IHCC Soccer Field, 4-3. Indian Hills falls to 9-6 while Lewis & Clark improves to 6-5. IHCC returns to @ICCACSports action on Sunday as it hosts @MCC at 1 p.m.#WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/a7REyGrHxU
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) October 6, 2022
