Scoring Summary
Game Leaders
Team Stats
Shots (on goal)
Saves
Fouls
Corner Kicks
Offsides
Tucson, AZ- Iowa Lakes Men's Soccer faced #1 seed and undefeated #1 nationally ranked Northeast on Thursday in the National Championship Semi-final in Tucson, AZ, winning 2-1.
The Lakers came out firing in the first half, dominating the game with their 5 shots to Northeast's 2. The breakthrough came in the 34th minute when Eugenio Perez put the loose ball from a corner kick away at the back post, taking the 1-0 lead into half-time.
Northeast turned up the heat in the second half, putting pressure on Iowa Lakes with 8 shots. The Lakers stayed resilient under pressure, absorbing the waves of Northeast's attack and choosing their moments when to attack. Emilio Cazares was taken down in the box in the 57th minute and stepped up to convert his penalty to give The Lakers the 2-0 lead. With less than two minutes left on the clock, Lewis Rourke put away the loose ball that was bobbling around the six-yard box for Northeast, but it was too little, too late. The Lakers saw out the remaining moments of the match to win 2-1 over their conference rivals on the national stage.
Goalkeeper Yuta Hirano won man of the match with an incredible 8 saves to keep his side on the winning end.
Iowa Lakes are now into the Championship match, which will be played at 3pm MST/4pm CST on Saturday, November 18th, at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, AZ.