Corrales lifts Thunderbirds past Cougars to cap off regular season
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
South Mountain Community College () | 2 | 0 | 2 |
|
Mesa Community College () | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Game Statistics | South Mountain Community College | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 2 (2) | 7 (0) |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Fouls | 0 | 2 |
| Corner Kicks | 0 | 2 |
| Offsides | 0 | 0 |
Saturday October 21, 2023 - 7:20 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger
No. 12 MCC Men's Soccer took care of business on Saturday night in the continuation of their contest against South Mountain CC.
The game began back on Sept. 12 and was interrupted in the 64th minute due to lightning. The score was tied 1-1, MCC's lone goal came off a Jose Carillo penalty kick.
On Saturday the two teams resumed play right where they left off with 26:41 left on the clock. MCC had a lot on the line in the game as a win would push them to the third seed in the postseason and would mean they will battle Phoenix College in the semi-finals. A tie or a loss would cement their fate as the four seed and force them to take on the number one seeded Pima CC.
In the 69th minute (5th minute of tonight's match) Abdiel Beltran was able to give the Thunderbirds the lead with his team leading sixth goal of the season. MCC was able to control the ball for most of the remainder of the match until the 87th minute as the Cougars were able to slip one past Alejandro Chavez, tying the game at two a piece.
With just three minutes left it seemed that Mesa would have to make the long road trip down to Tucson to take on the Aztecs, but sophomore Fariel Corrales had different plans.
With just six seconds left in the match Corrales secured a free ball, made his way around the keeper and scored to give his team the victory.
With the win MCC finishes the regular season with an overall record of 7-2-5 and a conference mark of 5-1-5. The Thunderbirds have now secured the third seed and will take on the number two seed Phoenix College on Wednesday, time to be determined.
