Ben Savallo
Sports Editor
TJC entered the National Tournament undefeated and the No. 1 seed in the country which led to the tournament being hosted in Tyler.
TJC opened their drive for five against Hill College and rolled over them 4-1 with Yazeed Matthews leading the way with two goals in the match and Shaun Stocker and Mohammed Kamara also added two more goals of their own. TJC then advanced to the next round against Trinidad State College from Colorado.
On Wednesday Nov. 16, the Apaches fell down 1-0 against Trinidad State heading into halftime. In the second half, Rooby Delusma scored a goal in the 54th minute to even the score. Following the equalizer, Yazeed Matthews scored in the 69th minute to give the Apaches a 2-1 lead over Trinidad State and to give him his third goal of the tournament.
This win pushed the team to the semifinals against a battle-tested in San Jacinto-South who was ranked ninth in the country. This match was the third meeting between these two teams this season, all of which were decided by one goal and all of which were taken by TJC. In the first half of the game the scoring opened up with a pass from Fredi Ortega to Mohammed Kamara who made his way past the goalie patiently to net the first net the first goal of the game.
The second goal of the game came from a red card against San Jacinto’s Reyes Varga that was followed by a penalty kick from TJC’s Shaun Stocker. Stocker delivered with a goal to seemingly seal the game for the Apaches. With clock hitting zero, this gave the Apaches a chance at winning their fifth National Title and a shot at redemption from last year’s championship match loss against Louisburg.
This brought TJC one win away from sealing a perfect season. With Monroe College standing in their way, the Apaches were beyond ready for a fight. The first half of play introduced a lot of edging moments for fans as there were multiple missed opportunities for TJC to score as well as Monroe. But the half came to a close with the score still 0-0.
But in the second half TJC proved why they were the best team in the nation. Michael Boakye scored in the 53rd minute of the game to give the Apaches a relieving 1-0 lead. But tensions were still high as both teams continued to battle in a very physical contest that had a combined 30 fouls from both teams. Later on in the second half with just five minutes to go, Mohammed Kamara broke away one last time to seal Monroe’s fate. Kamara scored with a shot over the goalies head and proceeded to the stands with other players to celebrate the goal.
The clock winded down and TJC was able to hold the ball long enough to see another match enter into the win column. TJC end the season with a record of 24-0, simply dominating everyone in their path.
Coach Clements received the Coach of The Tournament award and Kamara received the MVP award. The TJC Apaches are the 2016 Division One National Champions.
Feature photo:Â https://tylerjuniorcollege.smugmug.com/
