Ancilla College is acting like a David to much larger community college Goliaths. It took two overtimes, amazing blocking from a star freshman goal keeper, and three penalty kicks but the tiny junior college near Plymouth has advanced in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 soccer championships.
The Ancilla Charger Men’s Soccer team has faced a season against larger schools in the Michigan Community College Athletic Conference, a first round draw of Community College of Baltimore County (with over 70,000 students) and now a second round over Iowa Western Community College (with over 5,000 students). They will now face Monroe Community College from New York (18,000 students).
The Chargers, representing a school of just 600 students, are playing in the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament in Tyler, TX. The next game is Friday.
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is divided into three divisions and 24 regions.
Ancilla College is located near Plymouth, Indiana just south of South Bend. The two year college, founded in 1938, offers associate degree programs and men’s and women’s college athletic teams to students from Indiana and around the world.
Head Coach David Jacobs was named the NJCAA Region XII Coach of the Year. So, in a way, it really is David vs Goliath(s). Today’s 11 saves by Gianluca Marchetti played a major role in keeping the Chargers alive long enough to strike back.
The roster is:
2 Carlos Sevilla FR M/F 5-7 Houston, TX
3 Tekodah Lobsinger FR B/M 5-8 Chesterton, IN
4 Josh Logan SO B 6-0 Manchester, England
5 Liam Cleeton FR B 6-0 Edinburgh, Scotland
6 Francisco Ocampo FR M/F 5-9 Elkhart, IN
7 Yaret Regino SO F 5-7 Morgantown, NC
8 Josh Forth SO D 6-0 Manchester, England
9 Brandon Duarte FR M 5-9 Toronto, Canada
10 Kevin Mendoza FR F 5-5 Richmond, IN
11 Romario Piggott SO M 5-11 Panama City, Panama
12 Malik Palmer FR B 5-5 Jamaica
13 Omar Alonso FR F 5-5 South Bend, IN
14 Diego Serani FR M/B 5-5 Ecuador
15 Dylan Fillwock FR B 6-1 Niles, MI
16 Spencer Van Der Weele FR M 5-6 Argos, IN
17 Alberto Salas FR F 5-11 Laporte, IN
18 Randolph Bogba FR B 5-5 Indianapolis, IN
19 Vova Hardesty FR GK 5-7 Guston, KY
20 Rodolfo Baquerizo SO D 5-10 Ecuador
21 Manuel Castellon SO M 5-11 Brockton, MA
22 Gianluca Marchetti FR GK 6-2 Santiago, Chile
23 Connor Howe FR F 5-6 Oban Scotland
24 Taylor Medina FR GK 6-2 Rochester, IN
25 Moises Maciel FR M/F 5-6 Elkhart, IN
27 Chris Korvah FR B 5-5 Indianapolis, IN
77 Helder Semdedo SO GK 5-10 Brockton, MA
88 Lee Nicholson SO GK 6-0 Toronto, Canada
