Iowa Western Wins Third NJCAA National Championship
WICHITA, KS (November 23rd, 2024) - Top-seeded Iowa Western Men's Soccer defeated Cowley (KS) 1-1 (3-2) on penalty kicks to claim the program's third NJCAA D1 Men's Soccer National Championship.
The Reivers (22-0-3) opened up the scoring on a corner kick in the 8th minute from Efraims Valutadatils that found the head of Carlos Camara and the forward snuck it into the back of the net for his 4th goal of the tournament.
Both teams would trade punches, with Iowa Western outshooting the Tigers (16-2-4) by just one, 8-7.
The second half saw Cowley turn up the pressure as midfielder Kanta Ishii and forward Carmelo Bello had multiple shots that either just missed the frame or were turned away by Reiver Goalkeeper Francesco Tricarico.
The Reivers defended the attack but the Tigers finally broke through with just 7 minutes remaining when Bello toe-poked a loose ball into the side netting to level the score.
Cowley had two more chances in overtime, but the Reiver D held to force the game into penalty kicks.
The sure-footed Camara had his attempt glance off the post, and Cowley's first shooter, Andre Ecker, had his bang off the crossbar.
Hayato Takayama and Aron Martinez capitalized on their attempts, while the Tigers' Bello and Sota Nakazono finished their shots into the back of the net. Valutadatils buried his kick to make the score 3-2, then Tricarico made a huge save to his right, saving the shot of Inaki Lambarri. AJ Tesilimi stepped up to take the game-winner, but Kamy Ndione stopped his shot to keep Cowley's deficit at one. Tricarico stepped into goal again and saved the shot of Renan Syrio to give the Reivers the title.
This is the first national championship for Iowa Western since the team claimed the 2021 title in Tyler, Texas. Tricarico was named the MVP of the Tournament, Tesilimi earned the Defensive MVP award, and Seydou Diop took home the Offensive MVP award following the match.
National Tournament Schedule:
Championship - (1) Iowa Western def. (4) Cowley, 1-1 (3-2 PK) - Box Score
Semifinal - (1) Iowa Western def. (7) Indian Hills, 1-1 (5-3 PK) - Box Score
Pool Play #2 - (1) Iowa Western def. (8) Harcum, 2-1 - Box Score
Pool Play #1 - (1) Iowa Western def. (12) Coastal Bend, 2-0 - Box Score