The Grand Rapids Community College men’s soccer team dominated Lakeland Community College in their last regular season game, cruising to a 4-0 victory.
The first 100 students to show up received a customized GRCC scarf. President Charles Lepper was also in attendance to show his support for the No.18 ranked Raiders in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll.
As for the game, the Lakers started with two yellow cards in the first three minutes. GRCC responded quickly as freshman winger Alexander Lagazo scored a goal in the bottom left of the net off of an assist from freshman striker Cristian Diaz. The Raiders started the game with their bench players in, which paid off as they scored an early goal.
Only six minutes later, freshman striker Mohamed Tamour scored off of a goalie rush which completely shifted the momentum for the rest of the game. Freshman striker Jordan Marquez scored only eight minutes after Tamour’s goal, as the goal was similar to Tamour’s because the Laker goalie rushed.
GRCC continued its dominance as the defense only allowed one more shot the rest of the half and shut out the Lakers in the first half. The Raiders outshot the Lakers in the first half 15-2 and also had four more corner kicks.
In the second half, the Raiders continued to pressure the Lakers as they marinated the possession for the majority of the second half. GRCC had a multitude of shots to start the half, and then with 35 minutes remaining, freshman striker Hani Alturkmani scored off of an assist from freshman striker Elijah Maas to increase the Raider lead.
GRCC head coach Dameikco Smith made sure to play most if not all of his players against the Lakers as this was the last regular season game of the year. The Raiders continued the offensive attack as Tamour scored his second goal of the game during a one-one-one chance with the goalie.
All in all, this is probably the best defensive performance the Raiders have had all season as they did not allow a shot on goal and only allowed four shots in total. GRCC combined for 36 total shots in the game with 19 being shots on goal.
With the victory, the Raiders finish 12-3-1 in the regular season with a 7-2-1 conference record on the season which is good for second place in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA). Schoolcraft College won the conference with a 9-1 conference record.
For the third time this season, GRCC will face Muskegon Community College in the first game of the NJCAA Regional Tournament. The Raiders lost their first game against the Jayhawks but bounced back in their rematch against MCC. The tournament is hosted in St.Clair and starts on Saturday, Oct. 28.
