Reiver men's soccer ends regular season with a win in OT

Iowa Western men's soccer finish the season with a win against ICCAC opponent Hawkeye Community College. The contest against the Red Tails was another game influenced by the wind as the Reivers had to play the first half against it. The Reivers kept the space limited for the Red Tails, and created a few opportunities on the counter. The most notable attack was in the dying seconds when Tanner Miller was able to make his way into the box from a direct ball. He cut back against the defender with only the keeper to beat from a tight angle. He lifted the ball over the keeper, but couldn't beat the post as the last seconds ticked off the clock.

The Reivers piled on the pressure in the second half as they created 13 corner kicks and 18 shots with 8 of them being saved while preventing the Red Tails from a single shot in the second half. The Reivers thought they had found a way through when Fernando Zaragoza found Vicente Gallardo at the back post. His header beat the keeper and found the head of Jaaziel Thompson on its way in, but the linesman ruled Thompson offsides.

Regular time finished at 0-0 with the Reivers out shooting the Red Tails 27 to 2. Overtime started with the Reivers fighting against the wind. Zaragoza was in the mood to score as the Reivers were able to find him on the left wing. His first run at goal ended in a narrowly missed shot at the back post. His second run at the defense resulted in a free kick that was narrowly missed by Massimo Boron. Zaragoza's third run at the defense resulted in a shot that hit the back post and the break came just in time for the Red Tails. The second overtime was over in seconds as the Reivers took the kick off and didn't look back. Miller found Thei Tlo who found Mauricio Dos Santos in space. Dos Santos played the ball to Zaragoza and burst into the box for the return pass. Dos Santos then played the ball low across the box to find Tlo running in at the back post to score from close range unopposed.

The Reivers finish the regular season with a record of 8-5-1 and 6-4 in ICCAC play. This puts the Reivers in 5th place and will travel to take on the 4th placed Tritons of Iowa Central in Fort Dodge this Saturday, October 20th. The game can be seen live on the Triton's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCboVN7_iKQAFdVUAjSPdtlg.