Sharks Soccer Season Ends in Kansas
The Miami Dade College men’s soccer season ended on November 18 after a gut-wrenching 2-1 double-overtime loss to Arizona Western College in the first round of pool play at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Men’s Soccer Championship in Wichita, Kansas.
Forward Facundo Ochoa scored the game’s first goal at the 45 minute mark, giving the Sharks a 1-0 lead. The Matador’s Iman Ouedraogo Jr. tied the score with a goal in the 79th minute.
Arizona Western College defenseman Steven Leblanc scored the game winning goal at the 109th minute to end the Sharks season.
Despite the loss, the Sharks had an impressive run this season—their first in nearly 35 years. The squad finished with a 13-5-2 record, including a 5-2 mark at home. Miami Dade College finished the regular season ranked 8th in the NJCAA DI poll.
“Off the field, we did a lot of activities to grow closer as a group,” said Sharks freshman forward Edoardo Duchini. “On the field, we trained, and focused hard to improve our relationship and gain more chemistry to do better.”
Notable victories for the Sharks included back-to-back wins against Eastern Florida State College.
The Sharks beat the Titans 2-0 in their first matchup on September 27 and 3-2 on October 5. Eastern Florida State College finished the regular season with a 12-2-2 record; their only two losses came versus the Sharks.
“We’ve grown off the field greatly,” said midfielder Javier Prieto. “We adapted to each other’s cultures greatly and on the field we’ve built a new identity for the MDC team.”
Duchini led the squad in goals with 14. Ochoa led the team in assists with six and added 13 goals. The duo each had 32 overall points.
Goalie Samuel Cavo led the Sharks with 26 total saves in 10 games.
Ochoa, Duchini, Cavo and defenders Jeremy Levivier and Agustin Bezara earned Florida College System Athletic Association All- Conference first-team honors. Defender Jesus Colazo and midfielder Eduardo Cornejo were selected to the second-team.
In addition, Duchini was tabbed the Conference Freshman of the Year, head coach Giuseppe DePalo won Coach of the Year honors and Cavo won the Keeper of the Year award.
“We were hoping we could compete for a national championship and we did,” DePalo said. “A lot of lessons were learned by the players and the staff and it’s a good building block for next season for sure. We’re excited about where we finished and where we’re starting from.”
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