Region IV Champions!

Box Score JOLIET, IL: The Harper College men's soccer team left Saturday's game at Joliet Junior College with a 2-1 win in the Region IV Championship.

The Hawks got out to an early lead with a penalty kick by Arian Dizdarevic. With that goal, Dizdarevic was the Hawks' leading scorer this season. There wasn't a lot of action early besides that for either side as shots were coming at a premium.

Throughout the second half, the Hawks were continuing to hold onto their tight lead. Unfortunately, three starters were removed from the game during the second half due to injury. With less than 3 minutes left in the second half, a fatigued Harper was scrambling on defense and allowed a handball in the box. Ramon Orozco was able to get a hand on the penalty kick, however it still managed to find the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.

Going into overtime the Hawks stayed confident and hungry for the win. With a few saves from Orozco, the team was able to make it through two overtimes to penalty kicks.

The first penalty kick from Joliet was wide right and gave the Hawks opportunity right from the start. Diego Tapia decided to show off some moves with a hesi-shot to the right side of the net to start the momentum. Joliet scored their next 3 PKs as did the Hawks, as Damian Jablonski, Jose Caballero, and Antonio Caldera all scored in the lower right part of the goal. Joliet scored their last PK as well, leaving the game up to our own goaltender Orozco, who was taking the last PK for the Hawks. Orozco followed his teammates' lead and went lower right for the win.

Coach Vlad Gacanovic had this to say in regards to the game:

"Tactically, we played it exactly how I wanted us to from the start. We were aggressive early which led to our penalty kick opportunity, and from that point forward we held our shape and waited patiently for counter-attack opportunities. I'm really proud of our guys for toughing it out over 120 minutes even with all the injuries that we had."

Orozco was named the Region IV Players of the Year and Coach Gacanovic was named the Region IV Coach of the Year in first season as the head coach. Dizdarevic, Francisco Hernandez, Ricardo Orozco, and Orozco were all named All-Region.

The Region IV Midwest District Championship will be on Saturday, October 28th, at Riverland Community College in Minnesota.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Diego Tapia: MID; Sophomore

#26 Jose Caballero: M/F; Freshman

#14 Arian Dizdarevic: M/F; Sophomore

#1 Ramon Orozco: GK; Sophomore

#8 Antonio Caldera: MID; Freshman

#4 Ricardo Orozco: DEF; Freshman

#22 Francisco Hernandez: D/F; Freshman

#5 Damian Jablonski: DEF; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Diego Tapia
: Sophomore
: MID

#26 Jose Caballero
: Freshman
: M/F

#14 Arian Dizdarevic
: Sophomore
: M/F

#1 Ramon Orozco
: Sophomore
: GK

#8 Antonio Caldera
: Freshman
: MID

#4 Ricardo Orozco
: Freshman
: DEF

#22 Francisco Hernandez
: Freshman
: D/F

#5 Damian Jablonski
: Freshman
: DEF