Men’s Soccer Team Makes History With Region 16 Championship

Published: 05/20/2021

It was a moment the St. Charles Community College Men’s Soccer Team had prepared for all season. For the first time in school history, the Cougars were playing in the NJCAA Region 16 Championship. Going into the game, the Cougars were ranked 11^th in the nation.

That didn’t mean winning would be easy. Rain had made conditions slick and swampy before the game. During the game, the rain continued to fall.

For 90 minutes, the Cougars battled the St. Louis Community College Archers. At the end of regulation, the score was 0-0. The game headed into overtime. The first team to score a goal would win the game.

“It wasn’t a surprise in some ways,” said Tim Brix, St. Charles Community College athletic director. “The top two teams in Region 16 were on the field. They both fought incredibly hard.”

The Cougars had taken many shots on goal throughout the game, but every shot fell short – like a heartbreaker of a header that hit the goal post and didn’t’ go in.

Then, magic happened. Near the end of the first overtime, Ethan Pfaff found an opening. A quick pass traveled through several players and landed at Pfaff’s feet. Moments later, the Cougars were Region 16 Champions – making history in the process.

“It was so overwhelming,” said Pfaff. “When the ball went in, my mind almost went blank. It was nuts. It’s something I will remember forever.”

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“This is the first time in school history the Men’s Soccer Team has won a championship,” said Brix. “It was an incredible moment seeing that goal go in. I could not be prouder of this team.”  

SCC goalkeeper and team captain Pablo Costa believes the team dynamic is what helped win the game.

“We have players from Zimbabwe, Canada, South Africa,” he explained. “I’m from Brazil. We have all these different people with different backgrounds coming together. It’s a really special team. We did this together.”

“Winning this championship was our goal from our first team meeting this season,” said Tim Mosby, SCC Men’s Soccer Team coach, “The guys believed. They bought into the system, and here we are raising the trophy.”

After the game, Mosby was presented with the Region 16 "Coach of the Year" award from the NJCAA. 

The team now moves to the district championship in Normal, Illinois against Heartland Community College. The game will be streamed online at 4:30 p.m. Steam the game here.

The winner of that game heads to the national tournament in Wichita, Kansas.

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