MADISON, WISC. - For the second straight fall, the Madison College men's soccer team will play for a Region IV championship after earning a 5-1 semifinal victory over Harper College at Irwin A. & Robert D. Goodman Pitch-East on Wednesday. The second-seeded WolfPack earned some payback with their elimination of the third-seeded Hawks, who ended the 'Pack's season a year ago in the title game. The victory also ended the home portion of the 2017 season schedule with an 8-2 record on the new turf.

A five-minute span of the first half took a scoreless game and turned it into a one-sided affair. Twins Jake Andrews and Toby Andrews notched consecutive goals in the 17th and 19th minutes, respectively. Jake's goal went unassisted and was his seventh of the year, while Toby's came off a Marco Peruzzo pass and improved his team-leading goal total to 17. Two minutes later, freshmen Ian Nowell and Daniel Gutierrez combined to make it 3-0 with Nowell, a defender from Elkhorn, Wisconsin, getting his second goal in as many games.

It remained a three-goal advantage until the WolfPack again went on a short scoring spree with two goals in just over six minutes. Peruzzo, the Italian national, took a pass from Toby Andrews and converted his third goal of the year in the 66'. Then in the 72', British national Shane Paterson increased his season goals total to nine thanks to a second assist by Gutierrez.

Goalkeeper Blake Dehn had been perfect with eight saves in the match and was closing in on his fifth shutout of the season, however, the final shot on goal by Harper College (9-7-1) snuck past the sophomore and ended the clean sheet in the final minute.

Aside from goals, the match was statistically very close, with Madison College holding a 18-15 edge in total shots and a 12-9 lead in shots on goal. After splitting the regular season series with the Hawks, the WolfPack won the rubber match, marking the eighth win in 21 all-time meetings in the head-to-head series.

Up Next:

Madison College (11-5) will face off with top-seeded Triton College in the 2017 NJCAA Region IV Championship Game on Saturday, October 21. The Trojans, who are ranked #5 in the latest NJCAA Division III Poll, swept the WolfPack in the regular season and outscored them by a 6-1 margin. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. in River Grove, Illinois. The winner advances to the NJCAA District C Tournament starting October 25 at the NJCAA Region XIII winner.


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