Aug. 29 Neosho County Community College at Clover Dell Park Sedalia
The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners picked up their first victory of the season on Wednesday, Aug. 29 with a 3-2 victory in double overtime over Neosho County Community College.
Neosho struck first with about 42 minutes remaining in the opening half.
SFCC answered with a goal from Vasbert Ledger of Lafayette, Louisiana, who was able to head the ball into the net off of a free kick to tie the game at one. He was assisted by Eduardo Antunes of Brazil in the 37th minute.
The score remained tied going into halftime. Neosho found the back of the net courtesy of a great shot into the upper corner in the 51st minute of the match.
The 2-1 score would hold up until the final minutes of regulation. Ledger scored his second goal of the match, off of an assist from Aaron Latimer from Amarillo, Texas in the 88th minute.
The Roadrunners ended the match in regulation tied 2-2.
Neither team scored in the initial overtime, but early in the second overtime, Ledger got the ball in the box when he was able to get past his defender and draw a penalty kick opportunity.
Mani Hondroudakis from Australia took the penalty kick. The Neosho goalkeeper made the first save, but was unable to control the rebound. Hondroudakis would recover and score.
"Vasbert received the ball and stepped in the box which is a smart play," said SFCC Soccer Head Coach Jaime Beltran. "You want to put the pressure on the defense in that situation. Mani did a nice job of keeping his composure and finishing the play."
SFCC recorded eight shots in the contest, seven of which were on goal. Ledger led his team with three shots, all of which were on goal. Juan Jurkevicius from Bolivia got the victory in net for SFCC. He recorded seven saves in the match.
"Our guys fought back from adversity," said Beltran. "All in all, I thought we got a result we earned and worked hard for. I was proud of their efforts tonight."
Sept. 2 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College at Sedalia
The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners (2-1) opened the home portion of their schedule on Sunday, Sept. 2 with a 3-1 victory over the Norsemen from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO).
SFCC scored first in the 29th minute courtesy of a goal from Sebastian Aguero of Sedalia, off of a pass from Ledger. SFCC struck again in the 41st minute when Irankunda Bosco of Houston, Texas scored off of another pass from Ledger.
NEO scored on a penalty kick in the 65th minute to make the score 2-1.
Ledger put the game away scoring off of a free kick in the 74th minute to finish the scoring.
Ledger and Antunes registered a team-high three shots each. Jurkevicius and Reece Gabbert of Sedalia shared time in the net for SFCC. Jurkevicius recorded six saves. Gabbert registered two saves late in the game, one on a penalty kick that sealed the victory for the Roadrunners.
"We had two good wins this week," said Beltran. "It's starting to come together. As long as we keep moving forward, we should be okay. Hopefully, the crowd enjoyed the game."
SFCC will host Jefferson College in the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics