Men's Soccer

PREVIEW: NJCAA MIDWEST DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

PREVIEW: NJCAA MIDWEST DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Posted: Nov 05, 2025

Council Bluffs, IA – The No. 10 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Soccer squad is set to open up postseason play Thursday with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Soccer Midwest District Championship.

DETAILS: NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Midwest District Championship

#10 Indian Hills vs. #11 Illinois Central

Council Bluffs, IA  |  Marshall Complex

Thursday, November 6  |  3:30 PM

WATCH LIVE: GoHillsTV

BRACKET: NJCAA Midwest District Tournament Bracket

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: NJCAA Midwest District Tournament

For the third time in four seasons, the Indian Hills Men's Soccer squad will compete in the NJCAA Midwest District Tournament for a chance to clinch an automatic bid to the upcoming NJCAA DI Men's Soccer National Championship. The Warriors are coming off back-to-back trips to the national tournament, including a semifinal appearance in 2024.

HOW WE GOT HERE

The Warriors finished as runners-up in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference regular season standings to earn the second seed out of NJCAA Region 11, securing a berth to this year's District tournament.

  • Ranked No. 10 in the nation in the final NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Poll, the Warriors enter postseason play with an 8-4-4 overall record.
  • The Warriors went 1-1-1 in conference action against No. 2 ranked Iowa Western Community College this year, but the Reivers earned the outright title due to goal differential (3-2).
  • Indian Hills earned four wins over nationally ranked opponents this year.

WARRIORS AT DISTRICTS

The Warriors will be competing in the District tournament for the third time in program history (2023, 2022) and will look to claim the program's second District title after the 2023 squad captured its first championship in school history.

  • Indian Hills is 2-1-0 all-time in the District tournament, including two wins at the 2023 event to capture the title and earn the program's second trip to the national tournament.
  • The Warriors knocked off Harry S. Truman 5-0 and Iowa Western 2-0 in the 2023 tournament to advance.
  • Indian Hills' first-ever trip to the District tournament came in 2022, a 3-2 loss to Jefferson College.

WARRIORS TO WATCH

The Warriors will lean on a number of sophomores and newcomers to this year's roster to look for a shot at winning the District title.

  • Sophomore Diego Lazaro has tallied 15 points (5g, 5a) on the year and ranks in the top-10 in school history in career goals and career assists.
  • Freshman Enzo de Almeida leads the Warriors in goals (8) and points (18) on the year.
  • A pair of sophomore defenders who led the Warriors to the national tournament last year, Kira Fukuda and Vittorio Bellesi have anchored the backline to a 1.13 goals against average on the year.
  • Freshman keeper Matteo Malaguti has started 12 of the team's 16 contests in net on the year and boasts a 0.98 GAA.

 

SCOUTING THE COUGARS

Illinois Central enters the District tournament ranked No. 11 in the nation in the final NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Poll.

  • The Cougars sport an 11-4-4 overall record after winning the 2025 NJCAA Region 24 Championship, its second title in the last four seasons.
  • Indian Hills and Illinois Central tied 1-1 in Ottumwa back on October 21.
  • The Warriors are 4-2-1 all-time vs. the Cougars, including a 2-0-1 mark in the last three meetings.
  • Sophomore Nathan Le Roux leads the Cougars in points (32) and goals (14) while Pierrot Mourton has tallied 19 points (6g, 7a) on the year.
  • Milo Paci has started 17 contests in net for the Cougars and has pitched three shutouts.

SCOUTING THE FIELD

Along with Indian Hills and Illinois Central's matchup, Thursday will feature the other semifinal matchup between Iowa Western and Harry S. Truman.

  • Iowa Western, ranked No. 2 in the nation, earned the right to host the District tournament with an 11-1-5 overall record.
  • Harry S. Truman, the three-time defending NJCAA Region 4 Champions, owns a 17-1-1 record heading into the postseason.
  • The two sides will square off at 6:00 PM Thursday night.

WHAT'S NEXT

The winner of each semifinal matchup will advance to the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Midwest District Championship match Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM, also in Council Bluffs. The winner of Saturday's contest will earn an automatic bid to the national tournament, while the rest of the field will await a potential at-large bid to the national tournament in Daytona Beach, FL. Four at-large bids are up for bids across the eight NJCAA Districts.

NEW YEAR - WHAT TO KNOW

Fans can keep up the Indian Hills Men's Soccer squad all year long through a number of ways:

HOW TO WATCH

As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of all Indian Hills home men's soccer games. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:

  • GoHillsTV App: Download the Iowa Media Network app on your android or ios device and navigate to the GoHillsTV section
  • Website: https://www.iowamedianetwork.com/gohillstv to catch all live and archived information
  • Roku Streaming Device (new):  Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!

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