Hawks advance to Region XI championship after topping NIACC

NORFOLK, Neb. – The Northeast Community College women's soccer team is headed back to the Region XI championship match.

The Hawks (15-5, 9-1 ICCAC) took care of North Iowa Area Community College on Tuesday afternoon, defeating the Trojans 7-0 at Veterans Memorial Field in Norfolk.

Naomi Pedroza (Hastings, Neb.) put the first goal on the scoreboard for the Hawks within the first minute of the match. She later tallied another goal that gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

At the start of the second half, the flood gates began to open. Sara Pedroza (Hastings, Neb.) found the back of the net in the opening minutes of the half, before Brianna Mendias (Centennial, Colo.) and Naomi Pedroza put the Hawks up by five goals with back-to-back goals. Kailey Lincoln (Gold Coast, Queensland) punched in a goal off an assist from Frida Aguilar-Ximello (Boulder, Colo.), while Naomi Pedroza later scored the final goal for the Hawks' potent offense.

"We started the game off very well and attacked from the start," head coach Chad Miller said. "Once we got our second goal, I felt we played very casual and without much purpose. We talked about this at halftime and playing with a little more focus. I was happy with how we came back out in the second half and put things together. NIACC did a good job of moving the ball, so I was happy with how we handled their attack and kept composed throughout the match."

The Hawks welcome Hawkeye Community College for the championship match at 3 p.m. Saturday at Veterans Memorial Field in a re-match of last seasons championship match. The winner will advance to the North Plains District Championship on Nov. 5.

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