Men's soccer team blanks Cowley at national tournament

The Eastern Florida State College men's soccer team will play for a spot in the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament semifinals Wednesday evening at Daytona State College.

The Titans opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory over Cowley County Community College Tuesday night in a Pool D matchup.

Jai-Zel Smith DeShields got the Titans on the board 15 minutes and 55 seconds into the first half as defender Rhys Myers made a long pass to Smith DeShields who tapped it past the goalkeeper and then into the back of the net.

15 minutes later Aedon Kyra made it 2-0 on a pass from Chris Dilan. Leading 2-0 at halftime, Eastern Florida State College came out fast in the second half as Sebastian Joffre scored 21 seconds into the half and then again a minute later to make it 4-0.

"I thought we started the game on the front foot, put balls behind them and made it difficult on them early. All year we have created opportunities and it was fantastic that tonight we were able to put four goals in the back of the net," Eastern Florida State College men's soccer coach Oliver Twelvetrees said. "Sebastian Joffre is a fantastic player showed he is a man for the big stage. What was even better to see was everybody contribute, guys that have been great team players all year were able to get on the pitch tonight and make a positive impression. Really proud of the group."

The win marked the seventh straight for the Titans and the fourth straight clean sheet.

Eastern Florida State College will play No. 4 seed Marshalltown at 5 p.m. Wednesday for the Pool D title and a spot in the semifinals. Marshalltown beat Cowley County 2-0 on Monday night.

"They are a dangerous team, like to keep the ball and are actually pretty similar to Cowley," Twelvetrees said. "It is going to be a hard test but we hope we can put together our best performance of the season and advance."

Tickets are $10 per day or $40 for the week at Daytona State College and fans can also pay to watch the games live on NJCAA TV.com