Nighthawk Men And Women Win NJCAA Region 2 Championship
The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk men’s and women’s soccer teams defeated
the University of Arkansas-Cossatot (UAC) in NJCAA Region 2 play Sunday at Hot Springs
World Class High School to win their respective NJCAA Region 2 Championships. The
Nighthawk women picked up a 4-0 victory, while the Nighthawk men defeated the Colts,
10-1.
Before the women’s match, NPC honored its eight sophomores—Chloe Sosa (Snyder, Texas),
Abigail Curphey (Raymore, Missouri), Kaylie Goad (Wharton, Texas), Tanaya Miller (Chickasha,
Oklahoma), Jada Hammett (Little Rock), Natalie Alfaro (Nashville), Lalita Fry (Hot
Springs) and Andreya Reyna (Mexia, Texas)—for their outstanding contributions to Nighthawk
soccer.
In women’s action, NPC (2-9-2) took charge of the match early and never looked back,
resulting in the program’s first NJCAA Region 2 title. Hammett lit up the scoreboard
at the 15-minute mark, assisted by freshman back Yanisel Martinez (Dallas, Texas).
Later in the first half, freshman striker Alondra Limon (Alvin, Texas) popped a goal
over the head of the Lady Colts’ keeper to send NPC to a 2-0 halftime advantage.
In the second half, the Nighthawks padded their lead with two additional goals—a Sosa-assisted
strike from Goad and freshman striker Emily Gorrell’s (Tulsa, Oklahoma) team-leading
fifth goal of the season, sending NPC to the series sweep over the Lady Colts and
the team’s first postseason appearance.
Before the men’s match, NPC honored its 17 sophomores—Luke Berry (Manchester, England),
Evan Stafford (Cape Coral, Florida), Andre Uriando (São Paulo, Brazil), Kevin Puente
(Fort Worth, Texas), Tobias Minkus (Leipzig, Germany), Zakariya Abdi (Houston, Texas),
Noah Searl (Merthyr Tydfil, Wales), Omar Urribarri (Katy, Texas), Patrick Chan (Sydney,
Australia), Daniel David (London, England), Felix Rocca (Leipzig, Germany), Jack Avery
(Brighton, England), Henry Gomez (Springdale), Carlos Ayala (Houston, Texas), Saad
El Waziki (Conroe, Texas), Luis Soto (Hamburg) and Oscar Fabila (Tupelo, Mississippi)—for
their outstanding contributions to Nighthawk soccer. Against the Colts, the Nighthawk
men (12-1-2) bounced back from their first loss of the season in dominant fashion,
claiming the team’s second-consecutive NJCAA Region 2 title. NPC started the scoring
at the 13-minute mark on a goal from freshman midfielder Irvin Martinez (Katy, Texas),
assisted by freshman winger Ali Muganga (Nashville, Tennessee). ater in the first
half, David lit up the scoreboard with an unassisted strike into the corner of the
net to pad the lead.
Leading, 2-0, at halftime, the Nighthawks opened the floodgates in the second half,
scoring eight goals en route to a deciding victory. Searl found the back of the net
in the first minute of play, assisted by Rocca. Four minutes later, Rocca, NPC’s all-time
leading scorer, fired his 12th-career goal, assisted by Minkus. Later, freshman striker
Christian Villatoro (Katy, Texas) surged for his first two goals of the season on
an unassisted strike at the 61-minute mark, followed by his second goal four minutes
later, assisted by freshman winger Paulo Ndenzako (Memphis, Tennessee).
NPC boosted the lead to 7-0 at the 70-minute mark, with Puente scoring on an assist
from Searl. Avery added the Nighthawks’ eighth and ninth goals down the stretch with
an unassisted goal at the 74-minute mark and an Abdi-assisted goal at the 78-minute
mark. With eight minutes remaining, UAC avoided the shutout with a goal scored on
a penalty kick. With four minutes to go, NPC capped its scoring on a Villatoro-assisted
goal from freshman winger Grayson Owens (Memphis, Tennessee) to punctuate NPC’s championship-clinching
victory.
Nighthawk men’s soccer will conclude its regular season Friday, October 27 with an
NJCAA Region 2 match at North Arkansas College in Harrison at 4 p.m. NPC’s men’s and
women’s soccer teams advance to the NJCAA Division 2 Central District Championship
Tournament November 3-5, where the Nighthawks will face off against the respective
men’s and women’s winners from NJCAA Region 16.
For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit Nighthawk Athletics online. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.
Facebook: Nighthawk Athletics
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X: @NPC_Nighthawks
