Nakazono, Ndione shine in Cowley’s 3-1 win over Miami Dade College

The fourth-seeded Cowley College Tigers scored two goals in the first eight minutes and held on for a 3-1 win over ninth-seed Miami Dade College in the first round of the NJCAA Division I National Soccer Championship played Sunday evening at the SCHEELS Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, KS.

Cowley (15-1-3) has not lost since a 2-1 defeat against Indian Hills on September 25. Miami Dade College falls to 13-4-2.

"This is a huge win because Miami Dade is a very talented team," Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said. "I am proud of the boys; they were clutch."

Cowley started the scoring when Sota Nakazono took a free kick from about 35 yards out that Shogo Haraikawa headed in to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead only eight minutes into the contest.

Just three minutes later, Nakazono lofted a corner kick into the box where Takeru Chiba was able to score the Tigers' second goal.

With 29 minutes left in the opening half, the Sharks had a chance to cut their deficit in half as they were awarded a penalty kick. However, Cowley goalkeeper Kamy Ndione thwarted the scoring opportunity with a beautiful diving save.

The game would go into halftime with the Tigers leading 2-0.

However, the Sharks came out as the aggressor in the second half as Miami Dade College scored just a minute after halftime as Edoardo Duchini headed in a corner kick to cut Cowley's lead to 2-1.

The Tigers responded six minutes later when Renan Syrio scored off the third assist of the night by Nakazono as Cowley regained a two-goal lead at 3-1.

"Not only Sota's assists but with the way he runs the midfield is why he is a leader for this team," Vaz said.

Along with Nakazono, Ndione was the game's star as he recorded a season-high 13 saves and helped preserve the 3-1 win.

"I don't even know what to say, Kamy was amazing tonight and is an incredible talent," Vaz said.

Cowley will next play fifth-seed Arizona Western College on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to see who will advance out of Pool D. The Matadors are 14-1-2 on the season.

"We will watch them tomorrow. They are very talented as well and will present a good match for us," Vaz said.