Titan boys soccer team falls in Section Championship

For the second straight year the Tri-City United (TCU) boys soccer team advanced to the Section 2A Championship.

Unfortunately for the second time the Titans were shutout in their attempts to make their first State tournament appearance.

Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa, the No. 1 seed in the section, shutout TCU, 5-0, to earn their State Tourney bid.

"It seemed like every key moment went against us, starting with losing the coin toss that had us playing against a whipping wind to start the match. We did well in finding attacking space and generating chances against a stifling defense, but couldn't quite find the final flourish. Meanwhile, our defense really limited their direct attack, but PIZM did an incredible job of playing crosses into space and finishing on their best goal chances,” head coach Darren Iverson said. “The score didn't bear it out, but this was a much closer contest than last year's 2-0 defeat in the section final. This match was one to forget, but I'll definitely remember the season this team had to get us here." 

Season notes:

Four TCU players named Big South All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-Conference.

All-Conference - Angel Ruiz Gomez (freshman, forward), Damian Torres (senior, defender) 

Honorable Mention All-Conference - Alan Ortiz (senior, midfielder) Nick Mendez (junior, goalkeeper)

Collan Zehnder joined the staff this season to coach the team's first Junior High/C-squad. The team finished the season 8-3-1 and Zehnder was voted the Section 2A Assistant Coach of the Year.

Angel Ruiz Gomez 24 goals broke the TCU single-season record (previously Rafael Balcazar with 23).

Gio Perez 13 assists broke the TCU single-season record (previously Balcazar, Ortiz and Ruiz Gomez with 10).

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