Men's Soccer | 08.23.2024
Dallas, Texas — The NTCC men's soccer team jumped out in front of perennial national title contender Richland JC on Friday night in Dallas. The Eagles could not capitalize on the early lead on the road as the powerful Richland Thunderducks would eventually prove too much for the Eagle men. NTCC fell to Richland JC 6-2 in the regular season opener for both teams.
>> HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Eagles got on the board in the 8th minute capitalizing on a good switch from Sophomore midfielder Pete Donnan to freshman midfielder Jorge Pedromo who drove at the Richland goal and put the visiting Eagles up 1-0 with a well struck ball from 35 yards out.
NTCC carried the play for the 1st 30 minutes before Richland got into a groove the last quarter of the period and managed 2 goals before half.
The Thunderducks stretched the lead to 3-1 and eventually put the contest away at 4-1 before both teams made mass substitutions and the game settled down.
To their credit the Eagles kept on battling and scored a late goal on a well-executed free kick routine when sophomore wing Lochlan Scott served a ball into the box flicked on by freshman midfielder Dan Webb to freshman back Luke Kirkendoll who tapped in the close-range shot. The final score was 6-2 in favor of host Richland JC.
GAME NOTES:
Freshman Axel Tricot made his first start in goal and freshman Josh Quintero player the last 30 minutes of the contest to see his first collegiate action as well.
Freshman Jorge Pedromo picked up his 1st collegiate points along with his roommate Luke Kirkendoll.
FROM THE COACH:
- "Richland is a national title contender once again, as good as any team at any level in the country, they are a well-coached team. They are really challenging to play against, and we want to measure ourselves against them every year to prepare ourselves for a tough Region 14."
- "We saw some glimpses tonight of what we can be at our best. We are done with our pre-season phase now. We have to heal up, be more consistent in our approach, be smarter and tougher in competition, and face the challenges ahead. We will look to have a good week of practice and be ready to open Region 14 play on Friday night."
