Box Score WICHITA, KS. – The Parkland men's soccer team defeated No. 15 seed Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College 3-2 in their first game of group play at the NJCAA DII National Tournament on Tuesday night. The Cobras responded to a first half MGCCC goal with three wonderous strikes from outside the box on their way to a win in their first postseason appearance since 2016.
 
The Cobras (15-3-1) came out a little flat, conceding two corner kicks early, but found opportunities to score as they settled into the game. Neither team could break the tie early, until the Bulldogs (11-7-2) opened the scoring with only three minutes to go in the opening half. The Bulldogs threatened again to start the second half, but it was the Cobras that would find the back of the net when Eikichi Saito painted a direct free kick past the MGCCC goalkeeper in the 55^th minute after a yellow card just outside the box. But the Parkland set piece dominance didn't end there. Matheus Araujo gave the Cobras the lead in the 70^th minute when he finished off a flawlessly executed set piece with a thunderous strike from the top of the box to make it 2-1. The Cobras weren't done yet, as three minutes later Eli Warren scored a beautiful back-heel goal and all of the sudden, head coach Mark Sikora's team had a commanding lead. The Bulldogs didn't go quietly, however, scoring in the 90^th minute to make the final score 3-2. Cobras goalkepper Matteo Gigliozzi had four saves in the win.
 
Scoring Summary:
MGCCC Goal: Chad Hudson 42' (Unassisted)
Parkland Goal: Eikichi Saito 55' (Direct Free Kick)
Parkland Goal: Matheus Araujo 70' (Assisted by Eli Warren)
Parkland Goal: Eli Warren 73' (Assisted by Jonathon Velasquez)
MGCCC Goal: Chad Hudson 90' (Assisted by Hyungjoon Lee)
 
Up Next, Parkland takes on No. 8 seed Georgia Military College on Wednesday, November 17^th at 6:30 PM at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, KS. The game will be the Cobras last in the NJCAA DII National Championship pool D.