Ottumwa, IA – The No. 2 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Soccer squad opened the new year in dominant fashion, securing a 7-0 win over Otero Junior College (CO) on the opening day of the IHCC Classic Thursday.
The Warriors rolled past the Rattlers, who received votes in the preseason national poll, with three goals in the opening half before putting the match away with four strikes in the final 45 minutes of play. The seven goals are the most in a season-opener for the Warriors, previously set last season with a 5-0 win. Indian Hills has now posted back-to-back shutouts in the team's first game of the season for the first time in school history.
Seven different Warriors found the back of the net, including five newcomers to this year's program. Sophomore Fabian Arroyo (Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica/Liceo San Carlos) tallied three assists on the day while sophomores Diego Lazaro (Laval, Canada/Horizon-Jeunesse) and Rodrigo Velasco (Palma, Spain/Santa Maria), along with freshman Yuma Tsuzurabara (Tokyo, Japan/Sendai Ikuei) each tallied a goal and an assist on the afternoon.
As a team, the Warriors outshot the Rattlers 18-5 on the day, including a 12-0 advantage in shots on goal. Keepers Matteo Malaguti (Mantova, Italy/Liceo Isabella d'este Mantova) and Ilhan Benbraham split equal time in net to pitch the combined shutout for the Warriors.
Velasco opened up the scoring for the Warriors in the ninth minute of play. The sophomore headed home a free kick from Arroyo to put Indian Hills on the board early. Sophomore captain Alessandro Peruz (Calalzo di Cadore, Italy/Enrico Fermi) followed up less than four minutes later, heading home another free strike from Arroyo. Lazaro, coming off an All-Region freshman season for the Warriors, extended the lead to 3-0 in the 26th minute as Arroyo and Bennett Kouame (St. Louis Park, MN/St. Louis Park) teamed up for the assist as Indian Hills cruised into halftime with the three-goal advantage.
Sophomore Carlos Noboa (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Centro Educativo Miraflores) put the game out of reach to open the second half, putting home an assist from Lazaro just 30 seconds into the second stanza. Freshman Enzo de Almeida (Foz do Iguacu, Brazil/Colegio Silva Batista) delivered a perfectly-placed strike into the upper corner from the top of the box in the 48th minute for a 5-0 advantage.
Tsuzurabara tacked on a goal in the 71st minute on an assist from Joseph Redmond (Basingstoke, England/Basingstoke Academy) before freshman Rafael Posada (West Chicago, IL/West Chicago Community) capped the scoring in the 78th minute on an assists from Tsuzurabara.
The Warriors return to action Saturday morning with a 10:00 am matchup against No. 8 Miami Dade College (FL) at the IHCC Soccer Complex on the final day of the IHCC Classic. The Sharks earned a 1-1 draw with No. 1 nationally ranked Iowa Western Community College in Ottumwa on Thursday.
NEW YEAR - WHAT TO KNOW
Fans can keep up the Indian Hills Men's Soccer squad all year long through a number of ways:
- X (formerly Twitter): @IHCCAthletics | @IHCCMsoc
- Facebook: Indian Hills Athletics | Indian Hills Men's Soccer
- Instagram: @IHCCMSOC | @IHCCAthletics
- Youtube: Indian Hills Athletics
- Website: www.indianhillsathletics.com
- Catch up with the history of Indian Hills Men's Soccer: Indian Hills Men's Soccer Record Book | Indian Hills Men's Soccer All-Time Awards
- Keep up with former Indian Hills Men's Soccer standouts and where they are now | Next Level Warriors - Indian Hills Men's Soccer
- All home games are played at IHCC Soccer Comlpex on the Indian Hills Ottumwa campus
- Admission to all home matches is free of charge
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of all Indian Hills home men's soccer games. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
- Facebook: visit www.facebook.com/gohillstv
- GoHillsTV App: Download the Iowa Media Network app on your android or ios device and navigate to the GoHillsTV section
- Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
- Roku Streaming Device (new): Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!
Looking for Indian Hills Athletics information straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter and mobile alerts to receive news, scores, highlights, and more in real-time: INDIAN HILLS ATHLETICS NEWSLETTER
