The Pima College men’s soccer team advanced to the NJCAA Division I national tournament with a 3-1 win at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado, over the weekend, putting the Aztecs at the magical 20-win mark and setting them up for a chance to redeem last season’s tough finish.
In 2014, Pima cruised as it has this season, all the way until a 5-0 loss to Tyler JC in group play of the national tournament. Several players who participated in that game returned to the program this season, something head coach Dave Cosgrove thinks can be the difference from one year to the next.
“For me and the kids, we found out, you know what, we can play with these guys,” Cosgrove said. “They were a really good team, with great players, outstanding athletes, but our kids can match up. I think we can play against anyone in the country. We deserve to be on the field with everyone.”
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The other difference-maker for these Aztecs — or rather, numbers two through four — are named Alejandro Gonzalez, Jason Romero and Taylor Anderson.
When asked if Pima had been matched up well with Otero in the West District championship, Cosgrove said yes — in fact, the two teams are nearly equal at eight of the 11 positions.
“They might have bigger, we might have been faster; they might have been stronger, we were smarter,” Cosgrove said, “but at the end of the day, we had the three best players, and that’s where it really swung.”
Both Gonzalez and Romero had a goal and an assist for the Aztecs, and Niels Kool, no slouch himself, also scored, while Anderson, a freshman goalkeeper, had five saves.
“Their coach said, they game-planned for those guys, and both end up with a goal and an assist,” Cosgrove said. “They’re just too good. That’s high-level stuff.”
Seeds for the national tournament, which will be held at the Smith River Sports Complex in Axton, Virginia, will be released Wednesday.
Monaco ACCAC’s top coach
Pima football coach Jim Monaco has been named the ACCAC Coach of the Year after leading the Aztecs to their best record — 7-4 — since 2004. Monaco was also named Western States Football League Co-Coach of the Year with Snow College’s Britt Maughan.
Snow beat the Aztecs 26-16 in Saturday’s WSFL championship game. Despite the loss, Pima is still in line for one of six bowl games: Monaco said last week that he was confident the Aztecs would get a bid.
Monaco wasn’t the only Aztec honored Tuesday. Linebacker Wesley Payne was named WSFL and ACCAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NJCAA with 149 tackles. Freshman Timmy Hernandez was named All-ACCAC on both offense and defense; he was a first-team wide receiver and a second team defensive back. Defensive back Landry Payne, running back Deontay Townsend, kicker Nathan Farmer and offensive linemen Alex Rios and Jordan Agasiva were named first-team All-ACCAC.
Three earn All-ACCAC honors
Sophomore setter Miranda Bingham was named second-team All-ACCAC and to the all-region volleyball team after breaking the school’s single-season record with 1,209 assists while also collecting 469 digs and 69 aces. Libero Angel Chavez took home all-conference honorable mention honors as well, after setting a new school record with 681 digs for the Aztecs. Kristin Baldwin also was honorable mention.
Aztecs rolling in basketball
The men’s basketball team is off to a hot start, scoring 109 points in each of its two non-conference wins, with a chance to move to 3-0 during early non-conference play against Elite Academy on Saturday. Pima’s womens squad opens its season on Thursday against Cetys (Mexico) in Yuma at the Desert Classic, with games on Friday and Saturday against New Mexico JC and Brookdale JC.
