HILLSBORO, Mo. – Parkland men's soccer right wing
Ezekiel Nartey scored the lone goal of the match in the eighth minute of the match, as the Cobras picked up its third straight victory, and second this week, with a 1-0 shutout of Jefferson (MO) on Saturday afternoon.
"Anytime you have to go to Jefferson, it is always going to be a tall task and today was no different," said head coach
Mark Sikora. "We started the match very well and were rewarded with a great team goal. After that it was not the best match we have played this year, but the job was done. Our backline players, (
Ilan Carvahlo,
Josh Hays,
Harry Messitt,
Jaelen Jackson,
Vladimir Ortiz, and
Mohamed Belakhoua) along with goalkeeper
Lorenzo Giaretti gave us a chance to keep Jefferson off of the scoreboard by providing some textbook defending to shut down every Jefferson attack. Most importantly, we were able to compete fairly and keep our composure in highly stressful moments."
Twice beating a team either ranked (Jefferson) or receiving votes (Illinois Central) this week, the Cobras impressed Coach Sikora with their resolve and composure in tight matches.
"Today was an example of having to grind out a win versus a high quality opponent," said Sikora. "It has been a tremendous week with victories over ICC and Jefferson, something that we are extremely proud to have been able to accomplish."
Posting his fourth shutout of the season, sophomore goalie
Lorenzo Giaretti fended off five shots on goal by the Vikings and five second-half corner kicks.
Scoring his fourth goal of the season, Nartey scored his second game-winning goal of the season off a pass from forward
Yu Sasaki eight minutes into the match. Nartey's previous game-winning goal came on September 2 in an 8-1 home victory against Hawkeye Community College.
The assist by Sasaki marked the eighth of the season and increased his team-leading points total to 26 this season. The eight assists rank third nationally, two behind teammate Zachary Gowlett's NJCAA-leading 10 assists, while the 26 points rank 11
th.
Up next, Parkland returns home a week from today, September 29, for a 3 p.m. match against M-WAC foe John Wood at the Parkland Soccer Field.
