CONCORDIA, Kansas- Cloud County Community College men's head soccer coach James Ross was blindsided, tackled by his own men, and doused in ice cold water following the conclusion of Tuesday's game against Northwest Kansas Technical College.

He couldn't have been happier about it.

Ross, and the rest of his No. 12 ranked T-Birds, had plenty to smile about after their 4-0 victory over the visiting Mavericks. The win moved Cloud County to 12-0-1 overall, 9-0-1 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) and earned the program its first KJCCC West title since it co-owned that honor in 2011.

"Our first goal this season was to win the conference title and we've done that. I give all the credit to the players. It's all them," Ross said. "We're peaking at the right time this year going into the playoffs. We're 25 players deep and the sky is the limit with this team."

The T-Birds were led by freshman Marcos Gomes, who had a career day Tuesday with his first collegiate hat trick. He kicked off the game's scoring with 34:34 remaining in the first half, then opened the second half with a quick strike less than a minute into the period for his second goal.

Gomes, who entered Tuesday's contest with one goal in 2016 that came against the Mavericks on Sept. 24, completed his hat trick with 32 minutes remaining in the game as he cleaned up a rebound in the box to put the T-Birds up 3-0.

"This was the first game I played Marcos as an outside midfielder and he has a hat trick. Just excellent and all three of his goals were quality," Ross said. 

With 12:12 remaining in the game, the T-Birds' scoring became a family affair as Marcos' cousin, Roberto Gomes, rocketed a shot into the bottom-right corner of the net past the Mavericks' keeper to cap the 4-0 victory.

Freshman goalkeeper Calum Ellis Jones, untested much of the afternoon, was sharp when called upon as he recorded three saves in the shutout.

Before the T-Birds turn their attention toward postseason play next month, Ross said he wants his team to clean up a few areas in the final two regular season conference games, starting with a home contest against Hesston College at 3 p.m. this Saturday.

"We're going to go into these next two games like we haven't won the conference title," Ross said. "We have got to get better at finishing around the goal and shooting earlier. We want to work on some things these final few games, make sure everyone is healthy, and tweak with people in different positions. Come playoffs I won't have a 23-man rotation. It'll be 16-17 players deep. But all these kids can play."