Arizona Western men’s soccer captures Region I title, advances to national tournament

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) — Arizona Western College men's soccer defeated Eastern Arizona 2-1 at Matador Field to secure the Region I and district titles and earn a trip to the national tournament.

The seventh-ranked Matadors had to rally after 14th-ranked Eastern Arizona struck first. The Gila Monsters drew a penalty in the box and Khi Caban converted to give Eastern a 1-0 lead less than six minutes into the match.

Arizona Western answered less than eight minutes later. Leo Rodriguez sent a ball forward to Tyrese Agbontaen, who found Godwin Anim in front of the goal. Anim finished from close range to even the score at 1-1.

From there, the match turned into a defensive battle. Takuto Yamaguchi came up with a key header to stop an Eastern Arizona attack. Freshman goalkeeper William Owen also delivered a clutch punch on a corner kick to keep the match tied.

The breakthrough finally came in the 86th minute. After Eastern Arizona initially cleared a corner, the ball found Rodriguez, who made a move toward the goal before setting up Sayuki Miyatani. Miyatani beat the goalkeeper to put the Matadors ahead 2-1, sending the sideline into celebration.

Head coach Kenny Dale said he was impressed with how his team stayed patient against an Eastern Arizona defense that packed players behind the ball.

“They were playing at one point with 11 guys behind the ball. It's like getting into a safe. You just have to figure out a way in,” Dale said. “Our guys did a good job of that. We rotated the ball, looked to get in and, if it didn't work, we'd switch it, play it wide and serve it in.”

Dale also credited the team's composure and persistence as the Matadors worked through a challenging match.

“One of the key things we keep talking about is just do your job. Just keep doing your job,” Dale said. “If you do your job well enough, enough times, things will work out in your favor. And that's kind of what we did. We just kept fighting.”

The victory gives Arizona Western another Region I championship, along with the conference and district titles, and sends the Matadors to the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer National Tournament for the fifth time in six years.

“It's great to be back on top,” Dale said. “Another region title, another conference title, another district title, so we're really excited about it.”

The Matadors now await their seed and draw for the national tournament, which begins Nov. 15.