YUMA, Ariz. – For the third straight season, the No. 1 ranked Arizona Western Matadors Men's Soccer team (15-0-3) is headed to the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Championship after beating Salt Lake (16-1-2) 2-1 in the West District Championship Game on Saturday night at Matador Soccer Field.

Arizona Western found themselves playing from behind early when Salt Lake opened the scoring in the 19^th minute grabbing a goal on the counterattack to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead before the Matadors answered seven minutes later. Nick Kinina put home the equalizer in the 26^th minute off a corner, poking the ball past the Buins' keeper to level the score at 1-1.

With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Asaki Nakamura played a ball across the 18-yard box to Paolo Grizzetti who put the ball in the net at the back post to put the Matadors in front 2-1.

Esteban Gonzalez made six saves including two in the second half to help preserve the lead while the Matadors held off any late charge from the Bruins.

The Matadors qualify for the program's fourth trip to the national tournament and their third straight. The West District title was the team's second consecutive. The 2023 NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Championship will be held in Wichita, Kan., getting underway on November 12.