Men's Soccer Advances to NJCAA DIII Semifinals

Dallas College Richland men's soccer team opened the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Championship tournament with a 5-0 quarterfinals win over Community College of Rhode Island Wednesday in Batavia, New York.

The win sends the No. 1-ranked Thunderducks (14-0-1) on to Friday's 11 a.m. semifinals to meet Camden County College (14-2-0).

Saimon Gjeci scored two goals, including the gamewinner in the ninth minute when he banged in a carom off the crossbar on a blast from Felipe Garcia from the far left corner. Garcia connected with Gjeci again in the 17^th minute for a goal that gave Richland a 3-0 lead.

GOAL! ⚽️@DallasCollAth takes the lead in Game 1 of the 2022 #NJCAASoccer DIII Men's tournament.

Tune in now! https://t.co/O3OqYV5EdR pic.twitter.com/Ut5BRyNzrc

— NJCAA Network (@NJCAANetwork) November 9, 2022

Gjeci has seven goals this year. 

Jonathan Gallardo, Felipe Escorcia and Mika Zarkesh all scored one unassisted goal – the latter two coming in the second half of the runaway win.

Richland outshot CCRI, 44-1. The Thunderducks peppered Rhode Island goalkeeper Brady Linfield with 16 shots on goal. He stopped 11 shots. Richland keeper Lorenzo Rovei made one save in the only shot he faced.

Gallardo scored his fourth goal of the season in the 10^th minute. Escorcia netted his third in the 58^th. Zarkesh found the net for the second time with less than four minutes left to play.

Richland has won the last four national championships and 10 in program history.