Ottumwa, IA – For the third time in the teams' last three outings, Indian Hills Men's Soccer and Iowa Western Community College needed extra time to decide the outcome. On Wednesday, the result ended in a 2-2 draw at the IHCC Soccer Complex.
Taking on the top-ranked team in the nation, the Warriors squared off with the Reivers in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) action for the second time during the 2022 regular season on Wednesday. A narrow 4-3 double overtime loss on September 28 left the Warriors looking to draw a result on Sophomore Day at Indian Hills and gain ground in the league standings. The Warriors struck first in the opening half, and ultimately scored the game's final goal in the closing minutes of regulation to give Iowa Western its first non-victory of the regular season.
The Reivers entered the match with an unblemished 14-0-0 mark overall and a 5-0-0 record in ICCAC play. Between the match on September 28 and last year's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Soccer Region XI Semifinal round, the two team's battled for nearly 200 minutes with the Reivers edging out the Warriors by just one goal in each contest.
Wednesday's draw was the first positive result for Indian Hills against the Reivers since a 2-1 victor on September 26, 2018. The loss for the Reivers snaps an 18 match undefeated streak dating back to November 7, 2021, a streak that included the 2021 national championship.
Indian Hills struck first on Wednesday as the team's leading goal scorer Daniele Verdirosi (Rome, Italy/Araniti) converted his fourth penalty kick of the season. Verdirosi's goal came at the 20:34 mark of the first half to give the Warriors the initial lead.
Iowa Western responded almost immediately as the Reivers buried a one-touch shot from close-range less than 45 seconds later to tie the match at one. Both teams went scoreless the rest of the opening half to take the stalemate into halftime.
The two sides played scoreless soccer until Iowa Western was able to convert a shot in the box at the 79:10 mark to jump ahead 2-1. The Warriors managed to gain momentum down the straight with possession control and ultimately netted the equalizer in the 89th minute. Sophomore Galder Gaztelu-Iturri (Bilbao, Spain/Lauro Ikastola) drove a ball into the box that found the head of Emanuel Teixeira (Lisbon, Portugal/ICE) who put home the team's second goal of the game.
The two sides had opportunities throughout both overtime segments, but neither side was able to convert a goal as the conference battle finished in a 2-2 deadlock.
Sophomore Matteo Scarduzio (San Secondo Parmense, Italy/Fabio Bocchialini) stopped four shots in the tie for the Warriors.
With his goal in the first half, Verdirosi, this week's ICCAC Athlete of the Week, is tied for the most goals in the nation this year with 16 while his 38 points are third-best in the NJCAA. The freshman's four penalty kicks are also the second-most in the nation.
On the year, Iowa Western has allowed more than one goal in a match just three times this season, with two of those contests coming against Indian Hills. The Warriors currently rank second in the NJCAA with 68 goals on the year.
Indian Hills remains in sole possession of second place in the ICCAC ahead of Iowa Lakes Community College and Marshalltown Community College who both sit at 3-3. The top two seeds will host the semifinal round of the NJCAA Region XI Tournament which is set to kickoff October 25.
As part of Wednesday's match, eight sophomores were recognized for participating in their final regular season home match as a Warrior - Fabian Amhof, Galder Gaztelu-Iturri, Kevin Mejias, Landon Noe, Matteo Scarduzio, Kento Tani, Emanuel Teixeira, and Andres Valencia.
DRAW – @ihccmsoc & top-ranked @ReiverSoccer went into 2 extra stanzas for the 3rd consecutive time in the series, but this time the squads battled to a tie after neither team could collect the golden goal in extra time. (cont.) pic.twitter.com/VTmtZvH534
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) October 12, 2022
