The Western Texas College Men’s Soccer team entered last Monday’s game with a record of 6-0-1, ranking 11th in the nation. The Westerners were 5-0 in conference play while their opponent, Hill College, entered with a 2-2-1 conference record and 2-4-2 overall record. Western Texas College (WTC) hosted the WJCAC Region V Championship at Weaver Field in Snyder, Texas.

The first half saw plenty of scoring opportunities for both teams with the Hill College Rebels taking the advantage early with a goal to make the score 1-0 in favor of Hill at halftime. The second half saw possession start to favor the Westerners with scoring chances just missing the goal, but opportunities continued to build as play advanced. WTC was finally able to put in the ball in the back of the net courtesy of a goal by freshman forward #21 Fernando Barrientos late in the game to make the score level at 1-1.

With the score tied at the end of regulation, the game went to overtime under golden goal rules. The first overtime period saw more even play for both teams, but neither was able to capitalize on it. In the second overtime, the Westerners created more opportunities to score. Late in the game, the Westerners broke the deadlock and scored the game-winning goal thanks to freshman midfielder/forward #9, Roberto Ordonez. This was the second game-winning goal of the year, with an assist by freshman midfielder/forward #6, Jorge Amaya.

The final score was WTC over Hill College 2-1. This win earned the Westerners the 2020-2021 WJCAC Region V Championship, their first since 2018.

Watch the championship game on our YouTube channel.

Head Coach Elton Jazexhiu and his undefeated 7-0-1 nationally-ranked team will play in the NJCAA Mid-South District Championship Game on Thursday, May 20, 2021, against the Region II winner, Rose State College Raiders. Game kick-off is at 1:00 p.m. in Midwest City, Oklahoma. The Raiders have a 10-2 record and are ranked number 12 in the NJCAA rankings. This will be the first meeting in program history between the two teams.

The winner of this game will earn the automatic bid to the NJCAA National Tournament June 5-10, 2021 at the Stryker Complex in Wichita, Kansas.