East Peoria, IL – With a shot at a national tournament berth on the line, the Indian Hills Men's Soccer squad will compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Soccer District Tournament. Action gets underway Friday afternoon.

DETAILS: No. 18 Indian Hills vs. No. 7 Jefferson

2022 NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Midwest District Semifinals

Friday, November 4  |  4:30 PM

East Peoria, IL  |  East Peoria High School Stadium

WATCH LIVE: GoHillsTV

HOW WE GOT HERE

Indian Hills (12-8-1) captured the 2022 NJCAA Region XI Championship, the program's second region title in school history to advance to the NJCAA Midwest District Tournament. The Warriors, now ranked No. 18 in the national poll, topped nationally ranked foes Iowa Lakes Community College and Iowa Western Community College, the defending national champions, to win the title.

Jefferson (11-1-2) enters the tournament after defeating Crowder College (MO) 1-0 in the NJCAA Region XVI Championship on Saturday. The Vikings have won four straight contests and have not lost in their last six matches.

The two teams have played four common opponents this year with Indian Hills going 1-3-0 against those opponents and Jefferson going 3-2-1 in those matchups.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS

Jefferson is making its third consecutive NJCAA Midwest District Tournament appearance, having dropped each of its last two semifinal matchups. Over the course of the last three seasons, the Vikings are 28-8-5 overall with double-digit win totals in the last two seasons.

The Vikings are led by Alvarez Cooper's team-high nine goals and 21 points on the year. The sophomore attacker has scored in five of the team's last six contests. Sophomore Harry O'Brian has led the charge in net for Jefferson, collecting nine wins while pitching four shutouts. O'Brian enters Friday's matchup sporting a 0.96 goals against average.

On the year, the Vikings are 7-0 in one goal games.

WARRIORS TO WATCH

The second-highest scoring team in the nation has been a defensive force over the team's last two contests. Sophomore Matteo Scarduzio (San Secondo Parmense, Italy/Fabio Bocchialini) pitched two shutouts in the NJCAA Region XI Tournament to earn Goalie of the Tournament and ICCAC Athlete of the Week honors. Scarduzio lowered his season goals against average to 1.86.

Freshman Ron Becker (Tubingen, Germany/Evangelisches Firstwald Gymnasium) has managed the potent Warrior offense from the midfield position and was notably named NJCAA Region XI Tournament MVP for his efforts. The freshman is tied for sixth in the nation with 11 assists on the year.

Freshman Daniele Verdirosi (Rome, Italy/Araniti) and sophomore Kevin Mejias (Fermo, Italy/Montegiorgio Calcio) have combined for 31 goals on the year, the third-most between a pair of teammates in the NJCAA this year.

The solid run of defensive play for the Warriors has been anchored by the NJCAA Region XI Defensive Player of the Tournament Pietro Piacenza (Povegliano Veronese, Italy), sophomore Andres Valencia (Bogota, Colombia/Cendi), and freshman Richard Rokodi-Phelps (Suva, Fiji/International School Suva).

NOTABLE NOTES

• The Warriors are 0-4-0 all-time vs. the Vikings, including a narrow 2-1 loss at Jefferson last season.
• The two teams have played four common opponents this year, including Crowder who the Vikings topped 1-0 in the NJCAA Region XVI final. Indian Hills defeated Crowder 4-0 back on August 21.
• This will mark the Warriors' first-ever appearance in a District tournament. The 2017 team advanced to the national tournament directly through its region title under the previous national tournament qualifying format featuring zone qualifiers.
• GoHillsTV, the official streaming platform of Indian Hills Community College, will be on site for Friday's game as well as Sunday's matchup should the Warriors advance.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

A spot in the NJCAA Midwest District Championship awaits for the winner. Illinois Central Community College, winners of the NJCAA Region XXIV Tournament and Malcolm X, the NJCAA Region IV winner, will square off at 7:00 PM on Friday.

The District title game is set for a 1:00 PM kick-off on Sunday. The winner of the championship will earn an automatic berth to the NJCAA National Tournament in Melbourne, FL.