The schools are the same. The expectations are the same. The only question that remains is whether the results will be the same.

The Madison College (9-4-1) men's soccer team will begin the 2018 NJCAA Region IV Division III Tournament as the number three seed, and will open postseason play with a quarterfinal match against sixth-seeded Joliet Junior College (4-7-2) on Saturday at noon at Irwin A. & Robert D. Goodman Pitch-East. The WolfPack went 1-0-1 against the Wolves this fall, earning a 2-1 road win on September 14 and settling for a 2-2 draw on September 26. Since joining the region in 2009, the 'Pack is 7-12-3 when playing JJC, however, five of the wins have come in the last eight meetings. Saturday will mark the third postseason matchup between the two programs, with Joliet taking semifinal wins over Madison in 2013 and 2015.

If the WolfPack get by Joliet, they could likely run into some familiar postseason hurdles. Triton College is the region's top seed and defending champion after eliminating Madison College in penalty kicks in 2017. The two programs split their regular season series, each picking up a win on the other team's home field. Harper College picked up the region's second seed after sweeping the WolfPack with two wins over the last two weeks. This would be the third consecutive year the two teams have met in the region tournament, after the Hawks won the 2016 championship match and the 'Pack a semifinal victory last fall.

Head coach Cory Sims' team has outscored the opposition by a 2:1 margin in 2018 and is averaging better than 3.5 goals per game. Sophomore transfer Dejesus Herrera leads the way with 21 goals, the most ever in a single season in program history. Fellow second year Brandon Griffin has 11 goals. Thirteen others have also scored, however, no one has more than two scoring strikes overall. Another sophomore transfer Will Hamilton has proven to be the best distributor for the WolfPack, posting eight assists, twice as many as the next highest players. In goal, freshmen Saxon LaFlash and Msughter Abel Dzoho have split time between the pipes since mid-September.

Madison College boasts nine region championships in men's soccer. None have come in Region IV. On Saturday, the WolfPack begin another journey to try and change that.





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