CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Parkland College Men's Soccer Team advanced to the Region 24 Tournament Championship game with a 6-0 over John Wood Community College on Tuesday, October 25th. The No. 2 seed Cobras were set to host No. 3 seed John Wood Community College, but the game was moved to a turf field at the Rantoul Family Sports Complex in Rantoul, Illinois due to heavy rain. Parkland pulled away early in the wet conditions, leading 4-0 at halftime thanks to goals from Ryosuke Nakajima, Kyohei Kuroda and Eikichi Saito, who found the back of the net twice in the first half. The Cobras outshot the Blazers 14-2 in the win.
 
"Today's match was the most complete we have played all season," Parkland College head coach Mark Sikora said after the game. "Ryosuke Nakajima was dominant from the beginning and really set the tone. Every player put it a shift and the team spirit throughout the game was phenomenal."
 
The Cobras (8-8-2) struck early and often in the rain on Tuesday afternoon, as sophomore midfielder Eikichi Saito opened the scoring in the 3rd minute, freshman Kyohei Kuroda buried a shot in the 10th to give Ryosuke Nakajima his second assist of the day and Saito scored his second of the day to give Parkland a 3-0 lead over the Blazers (10-7) just 14 minutes into the match. Nakajima added his name to the scoresheet before the end of the half, slotting home an assist from Samuele Selva to extend the Cobras' halftime lead to 4-0. The rain did not stop in the second half and neither did the scoring. Parkland freshman Jackson Kirkland scored his second goal of the season in the 56th minute before sophomore Sam Rummenie finished off a pass from Saxon Shine nine minutes later and the Cobras cruised to a 6-0 defeat over the Blazers.
 
"I do not know what the next match will bring," Sikora admitted after his team's postseason win, "but hopefully this is a sign of things to come, and we can bring this level of play on Saturday."
 
Scoring Summary:
Parkland Goal: Eikichi Saito, 3' (Assisted by Ryosuke Nakajima)
Parkland Goal: Kyohei Kuroda, 10' (Assisted by Ryosuke Nakajima)
Parkland Goal: Eikichi Saito, 14' (Assisted by Kyohei Kuroda)
Parkland Goal: Ryosuke Nakajima, 43' (Assisted by Samuele Selva)
            Halftime
Parkland Goal: Jackson Kirkland, 56' (Assisted by Eli Warren)
Parkland Goal: Sam Rummenie, 65' (Assisted by Saxon Shine)
 
Up Next, the Cobras will take on the winner of No. 1 seed Heartland Community College and No. 4 seed Southwestern Illinois College in the Region 24 Championship game on Saturday, October 29th. The Regional Final kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 PM at the Corn Crib in Normal, Illinois.