Great Bend, KS – No. 1 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Soccer rallied from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 victory over No. 20 Barton Community College on the final day of the Barton Classic Thursday. The Warriors remain unbeaten on the year at 11-0-1.
In a matchup of two nationally ranked squads that squared off in last year's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Soccer National Tournament, the Warriors erased an early two-goal deficit with a pair of first half scores before a late strike in the closing minute of the contest to drop the Cougars. With the win, Indian Hills secured its third victory over a nationally ranked opponent in the team's last four contests.
The Warriors saw goals from a pair of freshmen – Fabian Arroyo (Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica/Liceo San Carlos) and Francesco Nanni (Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy/Angelo Vegni) in the first half before sophomore Daniel Mulero (Asturias, Spain/Salesianos Santo Angel Aviles) provided the thrilling game-winner in the 89th minute to keep the Warriors' unbeaten streak intact. Sophomore keeper Bernardo Manzano (Palmas, Brazil/Layton Christian Academy) secured the win in net for the Warriors, his NJCAA-best 10th of the year.
The Cougars outshot the Warriors 16-12 on the day, including a 6-5 edge in shots on target, but the Warriors capitalized on its most important shot of the day, Mulero's national-leading fourth game-winner of the year.
In a re-match of last year's NJCAA Pool Play opponents, Barton struck first in the 21st minute as the Warriors faced a deficit for the first time all year. The Cougars struck again just eight minutes later to push their lead to 2-0.
Indian Hills responded at the 33:00 mark as Arroyo corralled a loose ball from close range in the box on a pass from Diego Lazaro (Laval, Canada/Horizon-Jeunesse), this week's Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) DI Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week, before firing a shot past the Cougars' keeper to put Indian Hills on the board. The Warriors provided the equalizer with just six seconds to play in the opening half as Mulero played a free kick into box that allowed Nanni to deflect a shot into the back of the net.
The two nationally ranked foes competed over the next 43 minutes in a scoreless scrum before Mulero hit paydirt for the go-ahead score at the 88:38 mark. The sophomore collected a loose ball from 12 yards out and placed a perfect strike past the Barton goalkeeper for his 10th score of the year.
Mulero has now tallied a goal in eight of his past 10 matches with Thursday's score. The sophomore, who posted three points on the day, has recorded multiple points in a contest in nine matches in 2024. Mulero currently ranks second in the nation with 29 points and is the only player in the nation with at least seven goals and seven points this season.
Lazaro continued to make his mark on the Indian Hills offense as the freshman tallied a point for the fifth consecutive match, a stretch that includes three goals and three assists.
Manzano stopped four shots to help lead the Warriors secure the program's 11th victory over a nationally ranked team in the last three years.
Indian Hills returns to action on Sunday with a neutral site affair against Dodge City Community College (KS). The two sides will meet at 1:00 PM in Kansas City, MO on the campus of Rockhurst University.
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