Men's soccer falls in semi-finals to Pima, 3-1.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pima Community College () | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
Mesa Community College () | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Pima Community College
Mesa Community College
| Game Statistics | Pima Community College | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 11 (11) | 9 (9) |
| Saves | 8 | 8 |
| Fouls | 11 | 10 |
| Corner Kicks | 7 | 4 |
| Offsides | 0 | 0 |
Tuesday, October 25, 2022 - 11:00 pm | Dylan DeVlieger
The No. 5 men's soccer season came to an end Tuesday night as they fell in the semi-final round to Pima, 3-1.
The No. 2 seeded Thunderbirds took the lead in the 16th minute as Farriel Corrales was able to sneak it past the keeper after a precision throw in from Kayden Burnes. The Thunderbirds were able to lock down defensively until the 43rd minute as Pima's Brian Vu was able to to turn a loose bouncing ball into a goal just as the first half came to an end.
The second half was tightly contested as both teams were able to get good shots on goal but weren't able to find the back of the net until the 78th minute when Pima's Daniel Rendon was able to head in a corner kick to take a 2-1 lead. Mesa was able to make the end of the game interesting as they had two late offensive corner kicks that they just weren't able to turn into goals.
Pima's Nicholas Bianchi was able to add to their lead with 24 seconds left in the game to put the contest out of reach, 3-1.
Mesa's season came to an end, but their season was nothing short of historic. They recorded a regular season record of 12-3-1 overall and a conference record of 7-2-1. The 12 wins is the most in a season since 2003, and their regular season winning percentage on the year was .781%, the highest since 2001. The Thunderbirds were also able to protect their home field as they held a 7-1-1 regular season home record.
