Rock Valley three-peats as Region 4 champs
MADISON, WISC. & WICHITA, KANS. - Since the Region 4 Division II Women's Soccer Championship moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in 2023, Rock Valley College has turned it into a second home as the Golden Eagles defeated South Suburban College in penalty kicks to claim their third consecutive title. Tied 3-3 through regulation, neither team was able to net a golden goal in overtime, which sent the match into penalty kicks. Rock Valley won by a 4-2 count and earned an automatic berth to the national tournament. Jose Gonzalez of South Suburban College was named Region 4 Coach of the Year. (Recap: Rock Valley)
The #3-seeded Golden Eagles opened postseason play with a 2-0 shutout of #11-seeded College of Lake County in the quarterfinals, and then blanked #2-seeded Black Hawk College to win 1-0 in the semifinals. Meanwhile, top-seeded South Suburban College rolled to a 4-0 win over #8-seeded Madison College and then held off #4-seeded College of DuPage 1-0 to set up the third consecutive meeting between the the Golden Eagles and the Bulldogs in the Region 4 final.
Rock Valley College scored the first goal of the match in the 38' as Hailey Wesphal gave the two-time defending champs a 1-0 advantage. South Suburban College rallied back early in the second half when Emmely Munoz scored the equalizer in the 51' and Galilea Esparza put SSC ahead 2-1 in the 59'. An unassisted goal from RVC's Joscelyn Posada evened the match at 2-2; however, Esparza added her second goal of the match for a 3-2 Bulldogs lead. With just over ten minutes left for South Suburban to hang on, Rock Valley struck again in the 79' as Alanah Reyes found the back of the net to tie the game at 3-3.
Following two scoreless overtimes, the team's moved on to a penalty kick shootout to determine a winner. With snow falling, RVC goalkeeper followed a Samantha Wendt goal with a save against Esparza to earn the upper hand early. After both teams scored goals in rounds two and three, Hannah Munch made it 4 for 4 for the Golden Eagles. Fatima Fonseca of SSC stepped up in need of a kick to keep the championship hopes alive and force a fifth round; however, her kicked sailed over the crossbar to give Rock Valley College the title.
2025 Region 4 Coach of the Year
Jose Gonzalez - South Suburban College
(Image courtesy of Rock Valley College Athletics)
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The win propelled Rock Valley College to a third consecutive appearance at the NJCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships in Wichita, Kansas. The Golden Eagles were awarded the #9 seed and a spot in Pool D. Unfortunately, RVC lost 3-0 to #4-seeded Holmes Community College and 2-0 to #5-seeded Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to end their season with a 17-4-2 record.
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