Aztecs Men's Soccer Fall in Overtime, Take 3rd Place at NJCAA Nationals

The Pima Community College men's soccer team's season ended in dramatic fashion in overtime on Friday at the Smith River Sports Complex in Martinsville, VA.

The No. 4 seeded Aztecs lost to No. 1 seed Louisburg College 2-1 ending an unbelievable season in which the Aztecs won the most games in a single season (21-4-2) in Pima men's soccer history. They were also the first team in their conference, other than Yavapai College, to make two straight appearances to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. This was their best finish at Nationals since 1999.

After a scoreless first half in which freshman goalkeeper Taylor Anderson (Salpointe Catholic HS) made three crucial saves, Louisburg College struck first when Max Blackmore scored in the 67^th minute to put the Aztecs down 1-0.

The Aztecs pressed and played with desperation as time ticked away but they found the back of the net when sophomore Alejandro Gonzalez (Flowing Wells HS) hit a shot just left of the keeper on a cross pass assist from fellow sophomore Jason Romero with 9:19 left (81^st minute).

The Aztecs continued to put pressure on Louisburg as Gonzalez attempted a shot that sailed over the goal post in the 91^st minute and almost scored again on a header that went just wide.

Louisburg's Benjamin Foulds hit a shot that was deflected and went into the net that won the game with 5:30 left (95^th minute) in the first overtime.

"I thought Louisburg was very good and when we gave up the goal in 2^nd half, they (Pima) showed great resiliency," Pima coach David Cosgrove said. "We showed a lot of class coming back in the second half. (Taylor) Anderson was terrific."

The Aztecs outshot Louisburg 9-7 for the game and Anderson finished the game with four saves.

"It's hard to put into perspective but there are 146 teams in country and we finish 3rd in the country," Cosgrove said. "What we did is one of the greatest accomplishments in Pima soccer history. We set new standards and the sophomores leave as the most successful class in history."

Pima goals: Gonzalez (Romero) 81st minute

Alejandro Gonzalez/Photo by Vanessa Borboa 2015