Roadrunners soccer earns two region wins

September 18 Metropolitan Community College at Sedalia

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners soccer team earned their first victory of the season with a 2-1 win over Region 16 opponent Metropolitan Community College at the Fred E. Davis Sports Complex in Sedalia on Wednesday, September 18.

SFCC opened the scoring with a goal from freshman Yves terson Exavier with less than 20 minutes remaining in the opening half. The Roadrunners took the 1-0 advantage into halftime.

Metropolitan Community College tied the contest at one with less than 27 minutes remaining in the contest.

SFCC scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal courtesy of a penalty kick from Jervan Matthew with two minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the contest.

Freshman Michele Tafani got the start in goal for SFCC.

"Our guys are happy to get the win," said Head Coach Michael Poropat. "We have been close a couple of times. We have conceded a couple of leads this season, but today we gave up the lead and we were able to come back with a victory. I'm happy for our guys, I don't think they understand how good we can be. Hopefully, they will and we'll start getting more results like today."

September 21 East Central College at Sedalia

SFCC (2-6, 2-2 in Region 16) claimed a 3-1 home victory over East Central College on Saturday, September 21. The game was part of the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams.

Freshman Ethan Taylor got SFCC on the scoreboard first when he scored off a corner kick, with an assist from freshman Mohanned Naini with just more than 43 minutes remaining in the opening half. SFCC scored again with about 36 minutes remaining in the opening half when freshman Nathan McCollin scored on a breakaway, courtesy of a pass from Taylor to extend the SFCC advantage to 2-0.

East Central scored off a penalty kick with 16 minutes and 19 seconds to go in the opening half. The Roadrunners took the 2-1 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Ethan Phillips scored the only goal of the second half with an assist from Taylor with less than 36 minutes remaining in the contest. The game was delayed by lightning with about 22 minutes remaining in the game.

After the delay, the SFCC defense secured the win.

Tafani got the start in goal for SFCC.

"Two Region 16 wins in a row is a culmination of a few things," said Poropat. "Our starters were out there for most of the game and that makes the players on the bench have to work that much harder to fight for minutes. I'm happy and now we have to get ready for a match on Tuesday against Central Methodist. Our next three games are non-region games, so it's an opportunity to get some guys some looks and rest some guys who were carrying some minor injuries."

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics