Trojans are AMC champions

Coach David Erskine was unavailable for comment after the AMC Soccer Championship because he was busy being thrown up and down into the air by his jubilant team.  That team, one which is now 16-2-1, has punched its ticket to the NAIA National Tournament following a 5-1 rout over rival, No. 13 nationally ranked McKendree University. 
The Trojans looked a bit shaky in the first twenty minutes of action, but calm defense by center backs Gilberto Romero and Emilio Penules allowed HLG to weather the McKendree storm until Lucas Kozlowski could sub into the game.
Kozlowski came in at wing, and minutes later slotted home a cross sent in by Alberto “Beto” Borrachero.  This opened the floodgates for the Trojan offense, which has struggled all season, and burst the clouds, as rain ominously fell on McKendree’s Leemon Field.
Three minutes later and HLG added to its lead on a savvy finish by senior, Sebastian Rincon.  This goal, a volley struck off the turf and zipped into the bottom corner of the net, took the Trojans to halftime feeling good but unsatisfied.
Out of half, HLG took advantage of McKendree’s offensive push and added a third goal, this one again coming off a Borracharo cross and netted nicely by Estevao Franco.
Then, with the rain continuing to dump but not dampen the cheers of the plethora of HLG fans who made the trek to Lebanon, things got silly.  The unraveling began with a McKendree goal by Ryan Miller, who ripped a loose ball into the net.  On the play Trojan keeper, Jeff Jelinek, was knocked down and kicked by a McKendree player who was, after a brief officials’ meeting, ejected from the game with a red card.
HLG took this man advantage and put on a show.  McKendree had gained confidence with its goal, but that momentum was punted into next season by a ridiculous finish by Kevin Zimmermann.  The goal came from a restart taken by Romero thirty yards away from the goal-line.  Romero absolutely sizzled a low knuckling ball that was intercepted in mid-air and in the Bearcat keeper’s mid-dive, by the heel of Zimmermann.  The deft flick ricocheted the ball into the opposite corner of the net, and left the McKendree defense baffled as HLG once again turned to celebratory bedlam.
The fifth goal came from a no-look heel pass from Kozlowski to a jolting Franco.  Franco gathered up the ball mid-stride for what would have been a one-on-one with the goalie.  Rather than attempt to dribble past the approaching keeper, however, Franco glanced up and delicately chipped the ball beautifully into the net. 
The Trojans now await the final National Ranking and National Seeding meeting to be held on Sunday.  At that time, the Trojans will be sent to a campus site for the first round of Nationals.  The victor of that game—which could be held at any of the remaining 32 teams’ campuses on November 22—will advance to Fresno, California, where the final 16 teams will do battle until only one remains.  Will the Trojans make their way to California?  Will they be the final team standing in the nation?  Only time will tell, but tonight’s solid victory assures these questions will continue, and for now that is just fine for Erskine and his squad.