Second half surge lifts Tigers
MCC moves winning streak to 8 with 7-0 shutout of Dakota County
Though the NJCAA No. 11 Marshalltown Community College men’s soccer team dominated the time of possession and total shots column in the first half against Dakota County Technical College on Saturday afternoon, it only owned a 1-0 lead at halftime.
Tiger head coach Rafael Martinez had a long conversation with his players on the sideline at halftime, leaving them only a few minutes to warm up before the start of the second frame, but that talk clearly made a big difference.
MCC came out firing in the second, even more than it did in the first, and just 12 minutes into the second half the Tigers had extended their lead 4-0 on the way to a 7-0 shutout win over the Blue
Knights in their final home Iowa Community College Athletic Conference game of the regular season.
Martinez said he had two messages to his team during the break that obviously sunk in.
“One was execution, we were creating the plays, we were attacking the way we wanted to and we were creating opportunities, but we didn’t execute,” Martinez said of his team having just one goal on 13 shots in the first half. “At the same time I felt that at times we were maintaining the same tempo, and in the game of soccer you have to change the speed. What I did was I challenged the players to change the speed and create situations where we can ge one against one, then attack the ball and execute better.”
One player in particular took both of those messages to heart, as freshman Gerald Diaz had an outstanding second half. Diaz didn’t have a single shot in the first 45 minutes, but in the first 17 minutes of the second half he scored three goals on six total shots.
Martinez said part of the talk at halftime was to switch up their approach to attacking the Blue Knight defense, and Diaz was the recipient of the changed offense.
“We changed his position a little bit, we felt there was an opportunity for us to create good situations for ourselves outside, we just needed somebody to come into the box and finish those shots,” Martinez said. “We moved Gerald inside and he certainly executed that. He provided that extra surprise in the box, and certainly the execution was there.”
Diaz, who had just four total goals entering Saturday’s contest, said he can’t take all the credit for his scores.
“First I am happy because we won, then I am happy with my teammates that helped me to score those goals,” he said. “I am happy with the win and the hat trick, my first hat trick.”
Tiger defender Leonardo Tomasi got the scoring rolling in the first half with a goal in the 30th minute, set up by a long pass from Matheus Pereira. Tomasi said with the way MCC plays, he actually gets more opportunities to take shots even as a defender, and this time it worked out.
“Usually it’s good to go up because we have some really good guys in the middle that can give a long ball to me, so that’s something we have been trying to do and today we made it,” he said. “I am really happy that for the whole team, it wasn’t just me on my shot. It’s the pass and the communication and everything.”
While Tomasi has the title of defender — and the title of captain — Martinez said he is much more useful than just on the defensive side.
“He’s a very good defender but can also bring a spark offensively and he did today,” Martinez said. “He scored that first goal out of a pure desire of going forward and surprising with his technique and his speed and getting the ball in.”
Sekou Kromah also got a surprise shot in the net in the 57th minute on a sliding shot that was set up by Kazuki Kimura, then Evandro Resende scored on a penalty kick in the 78th minute and sent up a corner kick that assisted Andre Luis for the final goal in the 80th minute.
Domination doesn’t really put into perspective what the Tigers (13-1, 8-1) did against the Blue Knights (3-7, 1-5), as MCC had 33 total shots and 18 shots on goal while Dakota County had no shots in 90 minutes.
Martinez said once again that his team is able to completely take over games because of the entire field’s commitment to being involved both offensively and defensively.
“The game of soccer really requires 11 players attacking and 11 players defending,” he said. “We certainly take advantage of the characteristics of our fullbacks, they have good speed and are technically very capable. They can be dangerous and we want them to go up there and provide that width and depth in the final third and we took advantage of that.”
Tomasi agreed with his coach that the whole team stays engaged throughout the entire game, and that leads to the success they’ve seen so far.
“When we are attacking we try to be organized on the field, so if I go up we have one guy covering my back,” he said. “That’s the key, organization and communication to be a unit group.”
Marshalltown has one game left in ICCAC play, as it hit the road to take on Hawkeye Community College on Tuesday, then the Tigers wrap the regular season with a match against the William Penn University junior varsity at home on Friday.
Martinez said the guys have done a great job setting themselves up for success in the postseason, but they still need to finish strong in the regular season.
“I think it’s just staying hungry and humble and understanding that there’s room for improvement,” he said. “We try to improve every practice session, we are really focused on what we need to work on to make ourselves better as a team. Both individually but also collectively. The players understand there is room for improvement, like [former college football coach] Lou Holtz says, ‘you’re either growing or dying,’ and we want to continue growing until the last minute.”
Marshalltown CC 7, Dakota County Technical College 0
At Marshalltown
DCTC 0 0 — 0
MCC 1 6 — 7
First Half
MCC — Leonardo Tomasi (Matheus Pereira), 29:47.
Second Half
MCC — Gerald Diaz, 50:06.
MCC — Diaz, 55:47.
MCC — Sekou Kromah (Kazuki Kimura), 56:26.
MCC — Diaz (Rafael Vacas), 61:17.
MCC — Evandro Resende (penalty kick), 77:32.
MCC — Andre Luis (Resende), 79:42.
Goalkeepers — DCTC: Parker Jamison (13 shots on goal, 9 saves), Max Smothers (5-2); MCC: Joel Serrano (0-0).
Shots — DCTC 0, MCC 33.
Shots on goal — DCTC 0, MCC 18.
Fouls — DCTC 7, MCC 11.
Corner kicks — DCTC 1, MCC 13.
Yellow cards — Sekou Swaray, DCTC, 83:31.