2024 National Tournament Recap | Division I Men's Soccer
Wichita, Kan. – One seeded Iowa Western saw through the National Tournament to claim their second title in the last four years. Seventh seeded Indian Hills exceeded expectations beating two seeded Tyler (Texas) before falling in the semi-finals to Iowa Western.
The Reivers started the tournament red hot with a simple 2-0 victory with two goals from Seydou Diop. In the second pool play game the Reivers escaped No. 8 Harcum with a overtime victory, winning 2-1 behind two goals from Carlos Camara.
Indian Hills began pool play with a simple 2-0 win as well, over Western Nebraska. It was Daniel Mulero and Diego Lazaro with the goals and a great day from goalkeeper Owen Henderson with seven saves. In their last pool play game the Warriors fought hard and beat No. 2 Tyler 3-2 to advance. It was Mulero and Lazaro with the first two goals and it was Jermie Truel with an acrobatic finish to win the game with ten minutes left.
With pool play leaving Iowa Western as the highest remaining seed and Indian Hills the lowest, the two conference rivals were pinned against each other in the semi-finals. The game was scoreless until the Reivers struck with six minutes left in the game, the goal scored by Hayato Takayama off a rebound from the save. The Warriors began attacking with unrelenting force with little time left and were rewarded for the effort with a goal just five minutes later. After two overtime periods the game went to penalties where the Reivers prevailed 5-3.
Iowa Western advanced to the National Championship match where they faced No. 4 Cowley. The Reivers scored within the first eight minutes with a goal from Carlos Camara. They held the lead for nearly the entire match when Cowley scored late to tie things up. After two overtime periods the Reivers went to penalties again. The Reivers won on penalties 3-2 on a diving save from goalkeeper Francesco Tricarico.
Iowa Western swept the Tournament awards: Seydou Diop, Offensive Player of the Tournament; Ajmal Tsilimi, Defensive Player of the Tournament; Francesco Tricarico, Most Valuable Player; and Mike Brown, Coach of the Tournament.
From Iowa Western Seydou Diop and Ajmal Tsilimi made the All-Tournament team and Indian Hills captain Daniel Mulero joined them.
Indian Hills:
Pool 1 - (7) Indian Hills def. (11) Western Nebraska, 2-0 - Box Score
Pool 2 - (7) Indian Hills def. (2) Tyler, 3-2 - Box Score
Semifinal - (1) Iowa Western def. (7) Indian Hills, 1-1 (5-3 PK) - Box Score
Iowa Western:
Pool 1 - (1) Iowa Western def. (12) Coastal Bend, 2-0 - Box Score
Pool 2 - (1) Iowa Western def. (8) Harcum, 2-1 OT - Box Score
Semifinal - (1) Iowa Western def. (7) Indian Hills, 1-1 (5-3 PK) - Box Score
Championship - (1) Iowa Western def. (4) Cowley, 1-1 (3-2 PK) - Box Score