Harper men's soccer team earns No. 2 postseason seed
The Harper College men's soccer team (8-6-2) needed a pair of wins in its final two North Central Community College Conference games to secure the No. 2 seed and home field in the first round of the NJCAA Division III Region IV tournament that kicks off Saturday, and the Hawks got them.
"We are taking it one game at a time," first-year coach Andre Watson said. "Every team in this conference is good."
The Hawks earned the No. 2 seed with a 3-1 victory over Madison College 9-3-1 on Tuesday and then a 4-1 road victory over Illinois Valley CC on Wednesday.
Madison entered Tuesday's contest winners of their previous two games, including a road win over ninth-ranked Triton, outscoring their opponents 9-3 in that span.
It was the Harper offense that would take advantage of early opportunities, scoring three times in the first 12 minutes of the game thanks to goals from the trio of Palatine alum Ricardo Gonzalez (PK), Nathan Janny and Matthew Austin (Fremd).
"Early we played well," said Watson. "In the second half, we knew they would play better."
Harper would take a 3-1 lead with 45 minutes to play. Despite having less ball position than they did in the first half, the Hawks had plenty of opportunities to extend their lead. However they were unable to capitalize.
"We need to finish (those chances)," Watson said of the missed chances.
In the game's final five minutes Madison would cut its deficit to 3-2 but the visitors would be unable to pierce the Hawks' net the rest of the way.
The Hawks' first game of the tournament will be at noon Saturday.
•For the second time this season Harper's Rachael Temple was named the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Week for NJCAA Division III. The sophomore finished eighth at the Benedictine Eagle Invite last weekend. Her time of 23:38.8 was the best of the junior college participants. This is the third time this season the Harper women have won the award and the 14th Athlete of the Week honor in school history. The Harper women's team holds the top spot in this week's NJCAA Division III cross country national poll.