Hill College Men’s Soccer ends turnaround season with OT loss in Region 5 Final

The Hill College men’s soccer historic season came to an end Oct. 29 after losing a heartbreaking thriller against Western Texas College in the NJCAA Region 5 Men’s Soccer Final in the Rebels’ first Regular Season Championship since 2019. 

 

The game, which ended after Western Texas College won 5-4 in an extended shootout, capped off a season where the Rebels had gone from winless in conference play in 2024 to first place in 2025. 

 

“We came from not winning a single conference game last year, to regular season champs this season and a penalty shootout away from the postseason championship,” Hill College Head Men’s Soccer Coach Ivan Franco said. “Sometimes the ball just doesn’t roll your way, but these guys set a standard here that next year’s group can build off. We will be back next year, hungry for more.” 

 

After starting the season 0-2, the Rebels got hot – especially in September, where they went 7-0-1 during that month. They also secured a berth in the Region 5 Final after finishing first in conference play. 

 

“The unbeaten streak in September was no shock to us at all,” Franco added. “From the first day of preseason, we saw the talent that we had and we knew we had a team to do something special. This is only the beginning. I’m thankful for every player who bought into the vision I sold them when recruiting last year. We put ourselves in the right position to make it to the national tournament, coming two games away. Now that we know how close we were, the standards and expectations will be even higher. We will trust the process and come back for more next season.” 

 

Following Hill College’s turnaround season, a host of student-athletes – as well as Franco – received both conference and regional honors. 

 

Sophomore defender Luis Barreto received Second Team All-American honors at the conclusion of the season – one of only two Hill College players in history to receive All-American accolades. He was also named to the All-Conference/All-Region Team. 

 

Other Rebels who were named to the All-Conference/All-Region Team included Giovani Lopez, Gil Medel, Kevin Mejia, and Stefan Radovanovic. 

 

Mejia, who led the team in scoring with 17 goals and 6 assists, was also named the Region 5 Player of the Year. 

 

Regional Honorable Mentions for Hill College were Daniel Arias, Mateo Limardo, Eddie Zapata, Daniel Cruz, and David Fernandez. 

 

Also, Franco was voted as the Region 5 Coach of the Year. 

 

All-Tournament selections for Hill College were Gil Medel, Kevin Mejia, Daniel Cruz, Luis Barreto, and Daniel Arias. 

 

For more information on the Hill College men's soccer program, please visit https://hillcollegeathletics.com.