Tigers slip past Barton 2-1, capture fourth straight district title

Headed back to nationals! The No. 5-ranked Cowley College men's soccer team made it four straight Plains District Championships with a 2-1 win over Barton Community College on Saturday in Chanute, KS. With the win, Cowley advances to the NJCAA Division I National Championships on November 17-23 at the SCHEELS Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, KS.

Cowley remained unbeaten in its past nine games and improved to 14-1-3 on the season. Barton finishes the season with a record of 12-7-3.

Each of the goals in Saturday's game came in the first half. After Barton jumped out to a 1-0 lead, Cowley would tie the game on a goal by freshman Renan Syrio. The goal was the fourth of the season for Syrio.

The Tigers would go in front on the team-leading 11^th goal of the season for sophomore Shogo Haraikawa, with both goals being assisted by Sota Nakazono.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kamy Ndione made several nice saves, including one on a penalty kick, as Cowley made the 2-1 lead stand up.

"Kamy is an unbelievable talent and stopped a lot of difficult shots," Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said. "It was a tough battle against our biggest rival, who is very talented, but we were still able to come out on top. I am proud of the boys for getting the job done and sticking to the game plan."

This marks the sixth time in Vaz's seven years as head coach at Cowley that the Tigers have qualified outright for the national tournament.

"This shows the consistency of our program," Vaz said. "We remain hungry and want to accomplish more."

Vaz is eager to make the return trip to the national tournament along with the Lady Tiger soccer team.

"I am proud of the women's soccer team to make it to the national tournament along with us two years in a row," Vaz said. "We hope to have a lot of Tiger fans in Wichita to support both our programs. The sophomores know what to expect. We need to commit to the team and be smart because the national tournament is a very emotional tourney. If we get together as a team and do what we need to do, we will have a good chance of being successful."