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Hawks Men’s Soccer falls short in National Championship match 

Hawks Men’s Soccer falls short in National Championship match 

 

The MVCC Men's Soccer team faced Dallas College Richland in the NJCAA DIII Men's Soccer National Championship game. MVCC came into the game with an undefeated 15-0-3 record while Dallas College Richland would come into the contest with a 11-3-1 record, but undefeated in NJCAA DIII competition. Dallas College Richland was looking to defend their title, winning the last 5 National Championship contests. 

Dallas College Richland would first get on the board when Joseph Min would cross a ball into Luis Vargas who headed the opportunity past Jaime Mata to put the Thunderducks up 1-0. The lead would increase to 2 when Felipe Escorica would hit a free kick from the side of the 18-yard box that would bend off the post and into the back of the net. The Hawks had a chance just before halftime to cut the lead in half but Tony Gjomemo would strike the ball over the goal for the goal kick. The Thunderducks would head into the half with a 2-0 lead. The Thunderducks would put the nail in the coffin in the 67th minute when Valerio Del Mastro found a cross from Joseph Min and tucked it into the back of the net. Luis Vargas would add another goal with 9 minutes remaining to give the Thunderducks their 6th straight National Championship. Jaime Mata would finish the game with 7 saves for the Hawks while his counterpart Arath Valdez would finish the game with 1 save. 

"I don't believe we put our best collective effort forth today." Stated Head Coach Dominic DiMaggio. We gave up some very uncharacteristic goals in the 1st half which is a tough hole to climb out of against a team like Richland. For the first time this year, we were outplayed, Richland deserved it tonight. I give the guys a ton of credit for an incredible season. This one stings a bit knowing that we didn't put our best performance together." 

Fasaikou Jammeh was named Defensive Player of the Tournament while Andrew Chumukh and Alvaro Pineda were also named to the All-Tournament team. 

The Hawks conclude a historic season with a 15-1-3 record. They won their first NJCAA Regional Championship in program history and returned to the National Tournament for second time in program history. The Hawks other National appearance was in Spring 2021 when they lost in the Final 4 to Richland. "We will continue to make strides as a program to get us back here."