(Glendale, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s soccer team found itself in a tough battle on Thursday in its Region I, Division II Semifinals match at Glendale Community College.
The No. 3 seeded Aztecs fell to the No. 2 Gauchos 1-0 in overtime. The Aztecs went 0-2-1 against the Gauchos this season.
Glendale’s Hubert Muka scored in the box in the 94th minute after Jordan Yesenski’s delivery on a free kick.
The Aztecs struggled to get into any offensive rhythm and were forced to play on the defensive side of the ball for much of the game. The Gauchos outshot the Aztecs 9-3 in on-goal attempts; two of those were on one possession in the first half. Sophomore Tommaso Leonardi finished the game with eight saves.
“I don’t think it was a great game. The quality of the play wasn’t great from either team, but it was super intense and super physical from two teams who wanted to win,” Pima head coach David Cosgrove said. “They (Glendale) deserved to win for the measure of the game. The game was played more to their style than our style. We made too many mistakes and we didn’t score a goal and we should’ve.”
The Aztecs are now 12-3-1 and await word if they will receive an at-large bid to the NJCAA Division II Tournament. Coach Cosgrove talked about some of the accomplishments during the season that will hopefully work in Pima’s favor.
“We’re one of the best defensive teams in the country. We have a huge win at Phoenix College, who was No. 1 or No. 2 at the time when we beat them. We beat Eastern Arizona College on the road, who’s a top 10 (NJCAA) Division I team. We play in the second hardest conference in the country. I think both teams (Pima and Glendale) are deserving to go to the national tournament.
“Quite honestly, I think our conference deserves three in the tournament because last year we put two in the tournament; both teams won their bracket, went to the national semifinal and one team (Phoenix College) won the whole thing. I could argue we have the best conference in the country. I think our top three teams could play anybody.”
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
