MADISON, WISC. - In their third attempt at winning their first Region 4 championship, the Madison College men's soccer team came up a goal short in a 4-3 setback to Harper College on Saturday at Irwin A. & Robert D. Goodman Pitch-East. The Hawks netted three second half goals en route to their third consecutive NJCAA Region 4 Division III Championship. Both teams qualify for the NJCAA Midwest District Tournament, which will be hosted by Harper College on October 28-29.

The Hawks, who had defeated Madison College at Goodman Pitch-East on September 14, struck first with a 22' goal by Aaron Bustamante on a corner kick header. Madison College answered right before the end of the first half with a 45' goal from Dominick Ramirez on a penalty kick. The kick was awarded after the Harper College goalkeeper pushed forward Gabe Voung inside the goal box during a corner kick.

Even at 1-1 as the second half started, Harper College was able to score two goals in an eight-minute window to take a 3-1 lead, with the second of those goals coming again from Bustamante. Voung trimmed the deficit back to a single goal with a successful kick in the 67'. Freshman Jacob Howard stole a pass near midfield and executed a perfect pass in front of Voung, who beat a Hawks defender to the ball and scored.

Harper College regained their two-goal lead a 4-2 when a long pass pulled goalkeeper Phil McCloskey out from the goal and allowed the Hawks to beat him and the WolfPack defense in the 77'. Still not giving up, the WolfPack made it a 4-3 contest when a Richie Lima hail mary found the back of the net. The freshman midfielder/forward fired a shot from well-beyond the penalty box area and beat the Hawks 'keeper to the top-right corner for an unassisted goal. Unfortunately, it was the last shot Madison College was able to generate.



Both team finished with six shots on goal, with Madison College owning a 9-7 edge in total shots and a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. 

Howard, a Union Grove, Wisconsin, native, and Lima, a native of Brazil, led the WolfPack with two total shots each. Lima's goal was his fourth of the season, while Ramirez tallied his tenth and Voung added to his record-setting total with his NJCAA Division III-leading 25th goal.

McCloskey finished the match with two saves and four goals allowed.

Bustamante of Harper College was named Region 4 Tournament MVP.



Up Next:

Madison College (12-4) qualifies for the NJCAA MIdwest District Tournament and will play Region 5 champion Dallas-Richland (11-0-1) in the semifinals on Friday, October 28. The Thunderducks are the four-time defending national champions and are currently ranked #1 in the NJCAA Division III Poll. The WolfPack has lost all five prior district tournament meetings with Dallas-Richland, with the last one coming in 2007. The match will be played at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, with kickoff set for 2:00 p.m. The Hawks will play Region 13 winner Anoka-Ramsey Community College in the other semifinal at noon. The winners will meet Saturday, October 29 at noon for the NJCAA Midwest District Championship.

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