Instead of facing the cold reality of winter here in Michigan, head coach Rick Larson's Schoolcraft men's soccer team is in the heat of the NJCAA DI National Championship in Prescott, Arizona.
Schoolcraft, seeded No. 8, face No. 12 seed Coffeyville (14-5-2) at noon Wednesday (2 p.m. Arizona time).
Recommended Videos
Follow @KellyHaapala on Twitter for the latest college soccer news.
View: ClickOnDetroit Soccer Section
The Ocelots won the NJCAA Region XII Championship against Ancilla College in Grand Haven, 1-0, with a golden goal by Costa Wells in the 103rd minute. The win came a day after a 2-0 win in the regional semifinals against Lake Michigan College.
The team's stellar 17-2-0 season was capped with this exciting win and the last time the Ocelots were in the national tournament was in 2009 where they finished third. The Ocelot men's program has never won a national championship.
Freshman Goalkeeper Andres Hernandez won Best Goalkeeper of NJCAA Region XII and MCCAA Conference Year 2014 and he shares with Freshman M/F Victor Contreras and Freshman MF Jon Quintana in being named to the All Tournament Team for Region XII. Contreras was also named Freshman of the Year.
The Ocelots are in Pool A play in the National Championship round this week with the first game today against Coffeyville and then they play at noon Thursday (local time) against Iowa Western.