High 5: Richland Captures Fifth Straight National Championship

Make it 5-for-5.

Dallas College Richland men's soccer team won its fifth straight National Junior College Athletic Association Division III championship Sunday, beating Genesee Community College, 2-0, in Batavia, New York. It is the Thunderducks' 11 national crown in program history.

Felipe Garcia scored both goals – the gamewinner coming in the 52^nd minute. He added an insurance goal in the 74^th minute, converting a setup from Juan Vargas to lift Richland (16-0-1) to its fourth consecutive unbeaten season.

GOAL ‼️@richland_soccer breaks the ice in the 51st minute.

Catch the finish of @NJCAA_Soccer DIII men's soccer national title match - https://t.co/O3OqYVnNrZ pic.twitter.com/YjQpYajx4c

— NJCAA Network (@NJCAANetwork) November 13, 2022

It was Garcia's fifth and sixth goals of the year.

Richland, the wire-to-wire No. 1-ranked team in NJCAA DIII this season, outshot No. 3 Genesee, 17-5. All five of the Cougars' shots came in the second half. Genesee finished the season with a 14-4-3 record.

Rodrigo Artiga (7-0-1) stopped one shot to pick up his fifth clean sheet of the season. Oliver Alaviuhkola made five saves for the Cougars, who had to defend against 13 Thunderduck corner kicks.

In the 23^rd minute, Richland's Robert Zanfir put a shot on frame, but Alaviuhkola made the stop. After the Thunderducks picked up the two-goal lead, Genesee's Justin Madejski attempted a shot that Artiga stopped to keep the sheet clean.

Richland has not lost a game since Sept. 25, 2018 – a 2-1 setback to NJCAA Division I Tyler Junior College. It is a run of 75 straight unbeaten games. The Thunderducks are 72-0-3 during that stretch under head coach Raul Herrera and assistant coach Alberto Rodriguez.