'Riders take the ACCAC
Written by: Rough Writer Staff | 10 Nov 2008
The Yavapai College Roughrider soccer team just captured their twentieth consecutive Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) title.
With title in hand the YC men’s soccer juggernaut moved on to regional play on their home turf.
One of the victories on the road to the title was against the Pima Community College Aztecs in a tough game on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at Ken Lindley Field in Prescott.
It was an important game since the victory gave the Roughriders home field advantage for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region One Play-offs that began Oct. 30.
With the Roughriders being the number one ranked team in the NJCAA Men’s Division I and the Aztecs being number six, it wasn’t an easy game for either team.
“Pima is a good team,” says Freshman Defender Fabrice Kalala. “They definitely played good [and] gave us a hard game.” He says it was an intense game and, “The level of play was up, because the other team is good too.”
“The level of play was up, because the other team is good too.”
The whole game was pretty active and while the ball was all over the field, neither team made a goal until the first half was almost over. With less than five minutes left in the first half, the Roughriders had taken ten shots on goal and the Aztecs had taken five, but the score was still 0-0.
Then with only three minutes left, the Aztecs scored, putting them in the lead for the top of the second half.
The second half
The second half started a bit faster, with the Roughriders scoring in the first ten minutes of play, bringing it to a tie with one goal for each team.
Freshman Attacker Gabriel Okito, assisted by Sophomore Attacker Justin Meram, made the Roughriders’ first goal.
The Roughriders were still ahead in the number of shots taken, 12-8.
Okito scored again with the help of Greg Gilmer by heading the ball into the goal with 24 minutes left, breaking the tie and pushing the Roughriders ahead, 2-1.
The Roughriders continued their scoring streak with the final goal of the game. Sophomore Attacker Francis Khamis scored with an assist by Meram with just under six minutes left, furthering the Roughriders’ lead and bringing the total to 3-1.
The Roughriders didn’t let the Aztecs score after their first goal and managed to secure the victory two points in the lead, 3-1.
By the end the Roughriders had taken 16 shots while the Aztecs had taken 10.
Gilmer says it was “definitely one of the better games” of the season and the entire season has been “excellent.” “It’s my home away from home,” he explains.
Off to Nationals
“I thought they played very well,” says Dana Dieterich, who has been to every game this season with her husband Wolfgang Dieterich. She admits they are “big soccer fans” and says they plan to go to Phoenix to see the Roughriders play in the National tournament.
“I really like seeing the progress of the players,” she says, explaining that she likes to watch as they improve and are shaped under Head Coach Mike Pantalione.
W. Dieterich says, “Both teams played excellent defense,” but “the Roughriders had better control over the midfield,” which gave them the edge.
The Roughriders ended the season undefeated and ranked number one in their division.
The ‘Rider organization’s all-time record is 437-29-13.
As of Nov. 3, the ‘Riders had taken the Regional Championship 1-0 against Pima on Nov. 1 and were gearing up for their bid for the National title.
Leave your response!