The NIC men’s team have made an unexpected comeback and have qualified for the West District Final. Their last few matches have proved that have they have the spirit and energy it takes to compete at districts.
“I’m super glad we made it to districts,” said Eli Kesselheim,19, science, Bozeman, Mont. “I can’t wait to see how well we can do at districts and try to make it to nationals.”
The men had a series of away games that helped raise the team’s morale.
On Oct.19, the guys tied the Community Colleges of Spokane Sasquatch 1-1 to qualify them for the districts. The guys played a hard game with a couple of the guys sustaining injuries and many attempted shots. Jake Killian was out with a sprained ankle and Matt Lieggi was in and out of the game with a nagging injury.
Chad Ward was able to score the only goal at the 61st minute mark of the game. It was assisted by Forrest Walker and Ruben Amezcua.
“In the second half, we came and really gritted it out,” Thompson said. “You can still see that even though the idea’s there, we’re trying to make a process happen and physically don’t have the energy we need.”
On Oct. 16, the Cards came back strong and won against Westminster College with a score 3-1.
The Cards scored first followed quickly by their opponents entering half time. The guys quickly changed that in the second half scoring two more times for the win.
They did suffer a loss on the road on Oct. 14 against Laramie County Community College. Both teams were highly competitive but in the end the Cards were unable to overcome a 0-1 deficit. Between the two teams there were 42 fouls committed in over 90 minutes. Goalkeeper Dana Ashton made seven saves for NIC.
“We were kinda losing at the beginning of the season, so we got kinda down but got back into it,” said Matt Lieggi 19, general studies, Coeur d’Alene.
The last two home games started the guys on their new path. A win over Western Wyoming Community College on Oct. 8 and then a close match against Gonzaga prep on Oct. 9 were both much needed wins for the Cardinals.
“I feel like we’ve really turned things around,” Thompson said.
The Gonzaga game was the second game of the weekend. The NIC men’s team won 2-1, and coach Ken Thompson said since there were two games in one weekend, the second tends to “lack energy.”
“I think a lot of the guys were really tired today, but we came and played as hard as we could,” said midfielder Chad Ward 20, physics, Bozeman, Mont.
Thompson said they have really been taking time to organize their defense and the shape on the attack.
On Saturday, the guys played Western Wyoming CC and shut out their opponent 2-0. Thompson said it was a much needed win for the guys after losing three of their last four games Thompson said the two goals that were made were “spectacular.”
“Friday’s game was one of the better games we’ve played this year,” said Ward.
The West Districts Final takes place on Nov. 4,and if they guys make it through, they will be in the NJCAA Tournament on Nov. 5.
“We got some work to do but we can compete,” Lieggi said.
