Men's soccer: Breakthrough win for Warriors

Sep. 26—OTTUMWA — What would it take for an unranked team coming off an overtime road loss to return to the NJCAA National rankings?

How about a win over the sixth-ranked team in the country? That proved to be the answer for the Indian Hills men's soccer team, who is back among the top 20 teams in the Division I national poll released on Monday following a 3-1 win on Sunday over Iowa Lakes

Freshman Daniele Verdirosi's first-career hat trick carried the Warriors to breakthrough win, vaulting IHCC back into the national rankings. After spending one week earlier this season ranked 18th in the country, Indian Hills returned as the No. 20 team in this week's top-20 poll improving to 8-4 overall this season and 2-1 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play with the win over the Lakers.

"That's a great side that we were able to execute a good team win against," IHCC head men's soccer coach Kevin Nuss said. "Daniele ended up with the three goals, but it came off being able to execute the plan that we had for ourselves."

Verdirosi netted a pair of goals in the first half before converting a penalty kick early in the second half for the trifecta. The freshman has now tallied 11 goals in his last eight matches, scoring in all but one contest during the stretch. Verdirosi's 12 goals on the year lead the ICCAC and rank second among all National Junior College Athletic Conference (NJCAA) goal scorers.

Sunday's win marked the first victory against an opponent ranked inside the top-six in the nation in program history for the Warriors. The win over a nationally ranked opponent is the first for the Warriors since defeating No. 15 Marshalltown Community College 2-1 on Sept. 24, 2019. The last win over a top-10 opponent for IHCC came against 10th-ranked Iowa Central back on Oct. 2, 2018.

"We really try to stay focused on what's next," Nuss said. "Whether we succeed or we fail, we remain focused on moving ourselves forward."

That focus allowed IHCC to bounce back after a disappointing 2-1 loss at Marshalltown last Tuesday. The Warriors led 1-0 late in regulation before Hiroki Tsuda scored on a penalty kick with just over a minute left to force overtime, where Lucas Fazzalori put home the golden goal for the Tigers on a pass from Phillippe Rena in the 98th minute.

Verdirosi put the Warriors on the board just 3:30 into Sunday's match with sixth-ranked Iowa Lakes. The freshman took advantage of a Laker turnover deep in the Warriors' offensive territory, converting the steal immediately into a quality shot near the top of the box to put IHCC up 1-0.

"I felt confident anytime I could get a look at the net," Verdirosi said. "I've been trying to be more aggressive when it comes to attacking. That's what helped set up that first goal."

Iowa Lakes would spend the rest of the first half trying to answer the early goal by Verdirosi. The Lakers would ultimately finish with a 19-11 edge in total shots, taking nine of the first 12 shots in the match between the two teams.

"Part of that was a little bit by design," Nuss said. "(Iowa Lakes) is a very good team with a number of quality players. Part of the plan was to be a little bit frustrating at times and defend a little bit lower."

Shots that didn't drift high or wide of the net by Iowa Lakes challenged IHCC starting goalkeeper Matteo Scarduzio. The Italian sophomore was up the challenge with the first half, making five big saves to keep the Lakers off the scoreboard.

"Matteo came up huge for us in the first half," Nuss said. "We did a good job of keeping them out. That created the opportunities where we could set Daniele up to be special."

That's exactly how the first half ended for the Warriors as Scarduzio sent a kick sailing down the pitch in the final minute. The initial battle down the field for the ball ultimately resulted in a breakaway opportunity for Verdirosi, who scored his second goal with just 39 seconds left giving IHCC a 2-0 halftime lead.

"That changes the game when you can take advantage of moments like that," Nuss said. "We've been on the wrong end of that at times this season. To create an opportunity like that for ourselves is always a good thing."

It would prove to be even bigger just over six minutes into the second half as a 35-yard shot through the wind by Iowa Lakes sophomore defensemen Lewis Nohar sailed past Scarduzio into the back of the net, cutting IHCC's lead to 2-1. Just over four minutes later, however, IHCC was back on the attack as Verdirosi dribbled into the box along the backline drawing a foul on the Lakers in the 56th minute.

Verdirosi took full advantage of the foul, scoring on an ensuing penalty kick to complete the hat trick giving IHCC a two-goal advantage once again. The Lakers (8-2, 1-1 ICCAC) managed just three more shots on goal against Scarduzio, each of which was stopped over the final 30 minutes of the match.

"Matteo knows he made a mistake and had a lapse on that goal he allowed," Nuss said. "Having a player like Daniele Verdirosi gives you a chance to create those scoring chances on the other end and the ability to take advantage of them."

As a team, the Warriors are tied for the most goals in the nation with 57 on the season, even with Montgomery College (MD). Six different individuals have tallied at least 10 points on the year, led by Verdirosi's 27.

The 20th-ranked Warriors will be tested once again in its next match with a trip to top-ranked Iowa Western. The Warriors fell in last year's NJCAA Region XI semifinal round to eventual national champion Reivers, 2-1 in extra time.

The top-20 ICCAC showdown kicks off in Council Bluffs on Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m.

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.