Harper men's soccer advances

The Harper College men's soccer team did more than survive and advance Saturday.

In their NJCAA Division III Region IV tournament quarterfinal against Milwaukee Area Technical College (2-9-1)., the second-seeded Hawks scored 5 goals in the first 45 minutes and went on to an 8-0 win.

"When you finish your chances, you can take the other team out of the game," said first-year Harper coach Andre Watson.

This was the third straight game the Hawks (9-5-2) would scored three or more goals in the opening half.

Watson summarized his team's offensive efficiency simply.

"When we continue to possess the ball, and move it around," he said, "we can really open things up."

Avenging a 2-1 home loss on September 7, the Hawks advanced to host Tuesday's semifinal against Madison College. Harper defeated the Wolfpack 3-2 last Tuesday in Palatine.

The combination of sophomore Pedro Botello (Rolling Meadows) and Ricardo Gonzalez finished Saturday's game with a pair of goals.

Botello would also add an assist to his statistical output. Jose Mariscal (Wheeling) also had a multi-point game with 2 assists.