"Our goal is accomplished."

That's what Joliet Junior College men's soccer coach Cris Trillo said immediately following the Wolves' 4-1 victory over Riverland Community College on Saturday to win Midwest District Championship.

"We talked about in August that that was our goal this year," said Trillo. "Honestly, I feel relieved because the pressure was building up. When you get so close, being twice this close and when you you think you have it, something happens. So I feel really good and relieved and happy for the team."

With the win, the Wolves are advancing to the NJCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time in program history.

The Wolves struck early, when Adrian Gonzalez Martin scored on a penalty kick in the 10th minute to put JJC up, 1-0 -- a lead they held into the break.

During the second half, the Wolves had an eight-minute run where they scored three unanswered goals. The first was in the 66th minute when Noah Anhalt found the back of the net with an assist from Jonathan Mendez. In the 71st minute, Mahmood Shehada made it a 3-0 Wolves lead with another assist from Mendez. Finally in the 73rd minute, Mendez scored his own goal with help from Jesse Goense. 

Trillo credited the Wolves' offensive attack on his scouting of Riverland.

"I did analyze Riverland," he said. "I watched a lot of their games. We had a good talk in the locker room and I told [the team] how this team plays.  ... We put great pressure on them, especially on their end. We created a lot of opportunities and we executed."

Riverland, however, did not go down quietly. Late in the game, a loose ball ended up past Wolves goalkeeper Ivan Escatel, who finished having saved six of seven shots on goal.

"It was 4-0 and then there's this loose ball -- I feel bad for him because I wanted him to get a clean sheet but it wasn't that big of a deal at that point," said Trillo.

With the victory now behind them, Trillo and the Wolves await Selection Tuesday when they find out their tournament seeding. Trillo said his team is happy and expressed his excitement for the opportunity.

"I think now we can see what that level is like there," he said. "We're going to compete and watch, and this gives me a good idea of what we need to do to be competitive beyond our region. To me, it's just more exposure for us and also I think we should get some more recognition.

"This is historic."