NORMAL, Ill. – No. 2-seed Parkland Men's Soccer was eliminated from the NJCAA Region 24 postseason tournament by No. 3-seed John Wood by the score of 1-2. The defeat ends the season for the Cobras, who finish with a final record of 6 wins and 4 losses.
 
"Obviously, we want to win them all and stay level with the expectations of Parkland College athletics, reflected Head Coach Mark Sikora.  "This game can be cruel and, the bottom line today was that we did not convert our chances when we had them.  Normally, I do not make an issue of refereeing decisions but their failure to apply the rules properly had a crucially negative impact on the match as well."
 
After one half of play in the semifinal match, neither team had scored.  The Cobras were dominant in many aspects of the game but could not manage a goal until the 68th minute when Eikichi Saito put back a rebounded Parkland penalty kick.  The Cobras then began to fade and opened the door for John Wood, which scored two unanswered goals in the 73rd and 83rd minutes.  Parkland had two scoring opportunities in the final moments of the match but could not convert to level the score.
 
"While I am proud of the efforts given by all who were able to pitch in today, the play of Matteo Gigliozzi, who saved a penalty to keep us level, and Saito Eikichi really stuck out as they gave us a chance to win," added Sikora. "But hats off to John Wood as they just kept pushing and played at a competitive level that we just could not match in the final 15 minutes.  It is an awful way to end the strangest season I have ever been in as a coach."
 
Seven sophomores will depart the team, while eleven freshmen return to form the nucleus for the fall 2020 season.