Coach_H writes "From South Belt Leader:
Ever so close to the college’s first-ever national title in Mens Soccer, the San Jacinto College Coyotes instead suffered heartbreak.
Yavapai won its seventh national crown, blanking the Coyotes 1-0 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Mens Soccer Championships November 23, in Phoenix.
Dirk Peterson’s header 17 minutes into the game stood as the lone goal as the Roughriders capped an unbeaten season at 26-0.
San Jacinto, which defeated South Suburban and Mercer en route to its first appearance in the title match, finished its season at 18-2-2.
“It was a great game between the No. 1 and No2 ranked teams in the nation, and it was hard-fought.” San Jacinto College head coach David Santesteban said.
“It’s a great season in that we advanced further than any other team in school history, but at the same time, it hurts to fall shy. Our guys played hard and gave it their all to the final whistle.”
As more time passes following the finals loss, the Coyotes players and Santesteban will be able to relish this season’s accomplishments.
Fighting off adversity on a number of occasions, while dealing with storms, hurricanes, and other scenarios not related to soccer, the Coyotes pulled together on the field.
And the team’s fourth trip in five years to the nationals proved to be fruitful. Before this season, the Coyotes has never finished better than third at nationals.
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