It was a big weekend for the Riverland Community College men's soccer team, as it won a second straight NJCAA Region 13 title, winning the rain-delayed regional semifinal on Friday night before repeating as regional champions with a victory on Sunday afternoon.
The excitement began Thursday night, when the Blue Devils were supposed to play Anoka-Ramsey Community College in the semifinal. Mother nature had other plans, however, and the game ended up being postponed to Friday night. And the game did not disappoint, with Riverland prevailing in incredible fashion! The Blue Devils grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute, with midfielder Ntsako Baloyi (Pretoria, South Africa) scoring a banger from 30-plus yards out. The lead didn't last long, however, as Anoka-Ramsey's Brandon Lee tied things up in the 32nd minute, slipping the ball just past a diving Camden Williams (Rochester, MN).
The score would remain tied through the rest of regulation, the first overtime period, and most of the second overtime. That deadlock was finally broken by Riverland with just 1:17 left before the game was set to go to a shootout. Nick Asmus (Austin, MN) drove into the box and was taken down, earning a penalty kick. Asmus cooly stepped up and sent the ball past Rams keeper Eric Merchan, scoring a game-winning golden goal, to give the Blue Devils the 2-1 victory.
With the win, Riverland got to hold its home field playoff advantage as the region's number one seed, and so they welcomed Alexandria Technical and Community College to Wescott Field on Sunday afternoon for the regional final. Alex Tech had defeated Minnesota West 2-1 to reach their first-ever regional title game but traveled to Austin with just 11 players. The Blue Devils, in contrast, were playing in their fifth straight regional final, having won their first-ever regional title last season.
And the Blue Devils made the most of their opportunity to defend their title with a 5-0 victory over the Legends. Riverland started the scoring in the 10th minute, as defender Tristin Nosbisch (Mount Vernon, IA) scored a beautiful one-touch goal off of a Nick Asmus service. Just eight minutes later, Asmus would cross the ball for Poe Reh (Austin, MN) to score and give Riverland a 2-0 lead. That would be the score at halftime.
In the second half, the Blue Devils picked up their first-half scoring form, with defender Lukas Schrock (Mount Vernon, IA) scoring his first-ever collegiate goal in the 52nd minute from yet another Asmus delivery. And Asmus would add a fourth assist in the 66th minute, as he found Ntsako Baloyi for a close-range finish. Baloyi would add a second goal off a cross by defender Reyes Turcios (Faribault, MN) in the 69th minute for the final scoreline of 5-0. Head coach Frank Spaeth started making wholesale substitutions from there, with every player on the Riverland bench getting into the action. The reserves played tough and held the clean sheet for the Blue Devils.
"It was a big weekend for us and fun to be able to retain the regional title," said Riverland head coach Spaeth. "And to be able to get everyone in the game, so they could all say they were a part of the big day, was extra special. Now we need to get healed up and prepare for next week's big game in Illinois."
Riverland goalkeeper Camden Williams was selected as the NJCAA Region 13 MVP, and Spaeth was named NJCAA Region 13 coach of the year. With the win, the Blue Devils advance to their second straight NJCAA Division 3 Midwest District game. They will face Region 12 winners Joliet Junior College in Illinois on Saturday, November 2 at 12:00 PM with a place in the national tournament on the line.
