Kicking Forward: Apaches advance past Angelina into regional final

Published 5:28 pm Wednesday, November 6, 2024

TJC scored two goals in the second half and then held off a late surge by Angelina to register a 2-1 victory in the Region XIV Soccer Tournament semifinal on Tuesday at Pat Hartley Field.

The Apaches, ranked No. 3 in the nation, won their 15th consecutive game to improve to 15-0-2 on the season.

The Roadrunners, ranked No. 13, fall to 10-4-2.

Tyler Junior College advances to the regional final to face Coastal Bend College (11-2-3) at 6 p.m. Friday at Pat Hartley Field. The winner advances to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, which is scheduled for Nov. 17-23 at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas.

After a scoreless first half, TJC took a 1-0 lead at the 52-minute mark as Carlo Romberg, a sophomore from Werl, Germany, scored off an assist from Oscar Bech, a freshman from Askov, Denmark.

About five minutes later, the Tribe went up 2-0 as Yart Van Lieshout, a sophomore from Eindhoven, The Netherlands, scored off an assist from Romberg.

Angelina pulled within 2-1 at 83 minutes but the Apaches held on for the victory.

Joe Pollard, a freshman from Perth, Australia, was in goal for Tyler, making four saves and allowing the one goal.

APACHE LADIES SOCCER

The Apache Ladies, ranked No. 10, plays host to No. 5 Hill College in the South Central District Championship on Thursday.

The match has a 6 p.m. scheduled start at Pat Hartley Field. The winner advances to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament Nov. 17-23 at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas.

TJC advanced to the championship match after upsetting No. 1 Navarro, 2-1, in the Region XIV Tournament final on Oct. 29 in Corsicana.

HERB RICHARDSON TOURNAMENT

The TJC women’s basketball team will host the Fourth Annual Herb Richardson Women’s Basketball Classic at Wagstaff Gymnasium.

The tournament is Friday and Saturday for junior college and high school teams.

The schedule for Friday includes: Angelina (1-1) vs. Collin (2-0), 3 p.m.; Kilgore (3-0) vs. Temple (2-0), 5 p.m.; and TJC (1-0) vs. South Plains (1-1), 7 p.m.

There are six games on Saturday — three girls high school games and three juco women’s games.

Saturday’s schedule includes: Martin’s Mill (1-0) vs. Broaddus (1-0), 10:30 a.m.; South Plains vs. Angelina, noon; Collin vs. Kilgore, 2 p.m.; TJC vs. Temple, 4 p.m.; Tyler Legacy (2-0) vs. Shreveport (Louisiana) Airline, 6 p.m.; and Brook Hill vs. Tenaha (0-1), 7:30 p.m.

The Classic honors the late Tyler Junior College women’s coach.

Richardson was born in Livingston where he attended Livingston High School. After graduation, he enlisted in the US Army where he served during World War II. Upon returning home, he began his post-secondary education at Tyler Junior College where he was a scholarship athlete earning an Associate Degree, and numerous awards including men’s basketball All-America and national champion.

After graduating TJC, he continued his education at the University of Houston where he played basketball for the Cougars. There he received a Bachelor’s degree in History and Kinesiology.

He was basketball coach at Mount Pleasant and Van high schools before becoming an assistant under Floyd Wagstaff at TJC. He was later a TJC counselor, but then became head coach of the TJC women’s basketball team, where he led the Apache Ladies to the national tournament, including finishing second in 1979.

Coach Richardson was inducted into the TJC Circle of Honor in 1995.

APACHE BASKETBALL

The 2-0 Apaches men’s basketball team will play in the RV & Powersports Classic on Friday and Saturday in Ottumwa, Iowa.

On Friday, TJC meets Sauk Valley (Illinois) (0-2) at 4:30 p.m. The Apaches play host Indian Hills (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

Michel Alfaro contributed to this story.