CASTRO’S LATE GOAL SENDS NO. 11 NORTHEAST TO REGION 11 TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

NORFOLK, Neb. – The No. 11 Northeast Community College women's soccer team hosted the Region 11 Tournament First Round at Norfolk Veterans Memorial Field in Norfolk Sunday against North Iowa Area Community College. The Hawks took the showdown by a final score of 1-0 to advance to the Region 11 Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday.

Northeast (14-4-2, 8-1-1 ICCAC) and the Trojans were in each other's attacking third of the pitch many times throughout the afternoon, but both struggled to put away goals. The two squads entered the halftime break tied at 0-0 and neither team found the back of the net until Ezzy Castro (Kearney, Neb.) punched in a goal with an assist from Lexie Lilienthal (Grand Island, Neb.) with just 20 minutes left in the contest to put the Hawks ahead. Sarah Huckels (Essen, Germany) recorded five saves for Northeast as the defense for the Hawks held the rest of the way to send Northeast to the Region 11 Tournament Semifinals for the fifth-straight year.

STAT SHEET:

Goal: Ezzy Castro (Kearney, Neb.)

Assist: Lexie Lilienthal (Grand Island, Neb.)

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Women's Soccer Coach Chad Miller on the go-ahead goal from Ezzy Castro:

"We moved some people in there and got them moved around," Miller said. "Adjusted a little bit. For whatever reason, it always gives them that little bit of a spark. It was a great job by Ezzy and the rest of the girls to frame the goal. Those balls you just have to kick in, but they are always very easily missed. I'm glad the girls framed it the way they did to get the goal."

Miller on the semifinal matchup with Hawkeye next:

"I'm looking at it as just another game against Hawkeye," Miller said. "They always play us really tough. It doesn't matter if it's a playoff game or not, it's always the same thing. They play us tough and they are well coached. We just have to go in there and take care of business and get it done. Hopefully we can come out with the win."

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will compete in the Region 11 Tournament Semifinals against Hawkeye Community College at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Waterloo, Iowa. Northeast and the RedTails played to a 0-0 draw back on September 21 at Norfolk Veterans Memorial Field in Norfolk.

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