From whistle to whistle, the Joliet Junior College men's soccer team dominated Owens Community College as the Wolves won the Region IV title on Saturday, 3-1, in Joliet.

With the first postseason match now behind him, Wolves coach Cris Trillo feels a sense of relief.

"I feel relieved because it was the first game and the playoff is always difficult," he said. "I've never had a first playoff game where you just go off. There's always nerves -- getting in your head and knowing that if you don't win, you're done. It makes it challenging."

Jonathan Mendez, with help from Jordi Muntada, put the Wolves up 1-0 in the 18th minute, a lead they held into halftime.

The Wolves started the second half hot, as Noah Anhalt took a cross from Peyton Johnson in the 51st minute and tapped it past the Owens goalkeeper.

"The goal I scored, I saw a cross coming in," Anhalt said. "One guy was in front of me, I backed up a little bit and the ball came right to me. I scored that thing. It just came to me and I one-tapped it and it just went in."

"It looked like a well-executed play," said Trillo. "It was a good connection, good passing, good crossing and good finishing. It's exactly what textbook soccer is and what we practice."

The Wolves held a 2-0 lead until the 78th minute when Adrian Gonzalez Martin scored on a free kick to make it a 3-0 advantage.

Owens, however, would not go down quietly. In the closing minutes, Wolves goalkeeper Ivan Escatel gave one up to the attacker for what would be the final score of 3-1.

"He took too long to clear the ball," said Trillo. "He took too long, hesitated and somebody comes to challenge."

Despite the one flaw, the Wolves performed well on both ends of the pitch. Offensively, the Wolves recorded 10 shots on goal and 16 overall. Defensively, the Wolves allowed just two shots on goal, with Escatel earning one save and allowing the one goal. 

"I feel good," Trillo said. "We had a lot of shots on goal and we had some clear opportunities, so I feel good. Our goalkeeper only had one save -- that means they really didn't take that many shots. He's got to learn from that mistake he made -- he let the ball in."

Up next for the Wolves is the District C Championship on Saturday, Nov. 2 at noon. 

"I think if we play our best game, we have a good chance of really being the best," Trillo said. "We find out today who we're playing. I feel good; I feel confident. This it the year. I feel like we have a team to go to nationals."

"I feel great," Anhalt said. "We have a week of practice and we have a lot to prepare for. We're ready to play."