MIAMI, Oklahoma — The Cloud County Community College men's soccer team set three goals for the 2016-17 season: win the conference, win the Plains District, and win the NJCAA DI National Championship.
On Friday, the No. 7 ranked T-Birds, who already own the Kansas Jayhawk West Conference crown, crossed item No. 2 off the list as they earned a 3-0 victory over Hill College (Texas) in the Plains District championship game.
Each team is guaranteed a trip to the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer National Championships, which are set to begin on Monday, Nov. 14 in Tyler, Texas. Despite having the trip to Texas in their back pocket, the T-Birds (18-0-2 overall) came out hunting the district title and were able to dictate the action early on.
"We played against a very physical, big and fast team. But from the start of the game, I would say possession was 90-10 in our favor," said Cloud County head coach, James Ross.
Cloud County broke the scoreless tie with 34:11 remaining in the first half when freshman midfielder Roberto Gomes won a one-on-one battle and placed a perfect shot top shelf for his fourth goal of the season.
The T-Birds tallied their second goal with 12:56 left in the first half when Thursday's semi-final hero, freshman defenseman Alan Brandao, scored off a corner kick by Luiz Garcia for the second time in as many days.
Perhaps Brandao's biggest contribution on the day came in the second half, though, as he made two key clears in the second half when Hill College was making its hard push to get back into match.
"There was a span of about 20-25 minutes where Hill really put a lot of pressure on our back line, but they handled the pressure and (Calum Ellis Jones) was quality in net," Ross said. "Alan cleared one ball off the line with his face, and one off the line with his foot to keep it a 2-0 lead."
After weathering the storm from the Rebels, "Super Sub" freshman Rafael Santos delivered the exclamation point with 2:43 remaining as he tallied his seventh goal of the season, tying him for the second most on the team with freshman Marcos Gomes.
The T-Birds will get the next nine days to relax, celebrate and get back to work next week before heading down to Tyler, TX. for the first round of the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer National Championships. Pool play is set for Nov. 14-16. The tournament bracket is expected to be released early next week.
Ross believes the undefeated T-Birds stand a great chance to do damage once they arrive at Pat Hartley Soccer Complex, the site of the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer National Championships, as they seek their second national title in the program history.
"To me, I've said it all year, the only team that can beat Cloud County is Cloud County," Ross said. "We don't make mistakes and we play through adversity. All the individual accolades we've received— the All-Conference and Coach of the Year — are all great, but the conference championship, the district title, and now our third goal of winning a national championship are the memories you have forever."
