Posted: Nov 17, 2022
Yoshida's penalty sends Matadors to national title game with 2-1 win over Bruins
Arizona Western College
2
Salt Lake Community College
1
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Arizona Western College () | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Salt Lake Community College () | 0 | 1 | 1 |
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Arizona Western Matadors Men's Soccer team (18-2) advanced to the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Championship title game with a 2-1 win over Salt Lake (14-2-1) on Thursday evening.
With the Matadors down to 10 men, Shoki Yoshida stepped to the spot in the 55th minute and beat the keeper to put the Matadors back in front for good at 2-1.
Arizona Western opened the scoring in the 22nd minute off a corner when the ball was punched away by the keeper right to Terry Makedika who headed the ball in the upper corner at the back post, giving the Matadors a 1-0 lead.
Just before the half, the Matadors went down a man after Cambell Young was issued a red card for his challenge on the ball, being sent off in the 38th minute.
Salt Lake evened the scoreline in the 51st minute before the penalty was awarded to the Matadors just four minutes later when Nozomu Kamei was taken down inside the box.
Matadors' keeper Atsuki Sato made a game-high five saves out of the Bruins' six shots on goal. The Matadors advance to the national title game for the second consecutive season.
The Matadors will take on Monroe College in the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Championship Game on Saturday, November 19, at 5:00 pm MST at Orlando Health Stadium. Fans can stream the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Championship on the NJCAA Network with single-day championship passes for $10.