Men’s Soccer Snow College Athletics Media Relations
OPENING KICKOFF: The Snow College men’s soccer team will host the West District Championship Saturday Nov. 9 against No. 6 Arizona Western College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Snow College Soccer Complex.
The Badgers are recently coming off a 2-1 region championship title victory against No. 1 Salt Lake Community College. The last time the Badgers took the Region 18 crown was in 2022.
KNOW YOUR FOE: The Badgers are 1-1 against the Matadors historically. Taking the first ever matchup 3-2 in 2021 and dropping the second 3-2 in 2022.
The Matadors have a 13-1-2 overall record this season with a 7-0-2 conference record. AWC is on a three-game win streak entering the district championship.
The Matadors have scored 72 goals in 16 games for an average of 4.5 goals per game, while limiting opponents to 0.5 goals per game. The Badgers score an average of 3 goals per game and limit opponents to 1.2 goals per game.
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College men’s soccer team won the Region 18 Title after defeating No. 18 North Idaho College 1-0 and No. 1 Salt Lake Community College 2-1.
The No. 17 Badgers entered the conference tournament as the second seed after wrapping up the regular season with two draws. Snow College drew 2-2 with Truckee Meadows Community College and 1-1 with the College of Southern Idaho last weekend.
Snow College and NIC were scoreless through the first half. The Badgers’ lone shot on goal was turned away by the Cardinal keeper to keep the game scoreless. The Badgers’ defense flexed their muscles and allowed zero shots in the first 45 minutes of action.
Max Mayer scored the lone goal of the match in the 55th minute on an assist from Ryan Henry. Mathias Christensen shined in the second half following the goal. He turned away all three of the Cardinals’ shots to maintain the lead and eventually give the Badgers the 1-0 victory.
The win injected the Badgers into the Region 18 Title match against SLCC – the undefeated No. 1 team in the country. The Badgers were winless against the Bruins during the regular season. Snow College’s last victory against SLCC was in the 2022 Region 18 Championship.
"We came into the matchup knowing we were the underdog," head coach Jack Larter said. "Give credit to our team. They went into it with a do-or-die attitude. They showed up with a high-level of desire to get the job done."
The match started out well for the Badgers as Snow College Captain Jack Cook punctured the net in the 14th minute to give the Badgers an early lead. Cook’s impact would be felt just before the end of the first half as he fed a pass to Ansoumane Camara, who scored in the 43rd minute.
Christensen turned away both of the shots he saw during the opening period and the Badgers entered the break with a 2-0 lead.
"It was a super intense environment throughout the entire match," Larter said. "We played extremely well out of the gate. Our strong first half set up well to get the job done in the second half."
The Bruins would not go down without a fight, however, and cut the deficit in half with a goal in the 76th minute. The Badgers defense once again locked in and did not allow another shot by the Bruins throughout the rest of the match.
The Badger took just two shots throughout the game and converted goals on both shots. The Bruins took six total shots, all of which were on goal. Christensen saved all but one of them. Snow College salted away the remaining minutes of the match and claimed the Region 18 crown, 2-1.
"My first thought was just elation," Larter said. "It truly was a blast of pure emotions knowing we had defeated the undefeated No. 1 team on their home turf. It meant a ton to me and the team, and I’m extremely pleased with the way they performed."
Several members of the team received tournament awards over the weekend. Cook, was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player while Christensen received the Goalkeeper of the Tournament Award. Jack Burman, Camara, Max Mayer, and Nefthaly Loya were all named to the All-Tournament team.
UP NEXT: If the Badgers win the district championship, Snow College will receive an automatic bid into the national tournament. Otherwise, the Badgers would need to receive an at-large bid to play in the national tournament. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
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