After more than three decades of Men’s Soccer at Arizona Western, the program’s profile on the national level has never been higher, coming off an appearance in the NJCAA DI Men’s Soccer Championship game in 2021.
The program struggled to find success, and steady leadership, from its beginning in 1987 until Jaime Ibarra led the Matadors to the Playoffs in 1998. That began a string of three consecutive post-season appearances into the early 2000’s. Ibarra, who took control of the program in 1991, departed after the 2000 season and was replaced by Chris Fermanis.
Fermanis led the Matadors to its first ranking in the NJCAA Top 25 during the 2002 season, but ultimately the squad finished under .500.
Arizona Western shifted its focus prior to the 2005 season, hiring the first full-time coach in the program’s history. Kenny Dale brought stability to the program and returned the Matadors to the post-season in each of his first two seasons while posting the first set of consecutive winning seasons that the program had accomplished in nearly a decade. Despite a step back in 2007, the Matadors laid the foundation for a decade of success the following year.
That proved to be the groundwork for future success as Dale’s teams improved in win total in each of the next three seasons and made a deeper run into the postseason. By 2010, the Matadors had more than doubled their win total from 2007, broke through the ceiling of the Region I Final to capture the first Region Championship in program history, and concluded an 18-4-1 season with a District Final appearance. Two more incredible seasons of reaching the postseason culminated with a new program-best 19 wins and another appearance in the Region Championship Match.
The success was rewarded with the brand-new Matador Soccer Field, built in 2013, and accompanied by the creation of a women’s soccer team at Arizona Western. Dale guided both teams to winning records and playoff appearances for two seasons before resuming duties as solely the Men’s Head Coach in 2015. The wins shot back up to a 17-3-1 mark and a semi-final appearance.
Arizona Western won at least 13 matches in each of the next three seasons heading into Dale’s 15th year at the helm in 2019.
While the Matadors notched just ten wins in the regular season, that was enough to earn a home game and the fourth seed in the Region I Playoffs, extending a streak of 12 consecutive post-season appearances. A home shutout over Paradise Valley extended the Matadors' streak of five consecutive Semifinal appearances and sent them to the ACCAC Champions at Phoenix College. Down two goals at halftime, Arizona Western’s comeback forced overtime before a golden goal sent the Matadors to the Region I Final. For their efforts, the Mats headed to Tucson for the Region I Final against the defending NJCAA National Champion Pima Aztecs. The game was scoreless through regulation and both overtimes before coming down to penalty kicks. ACCAC and Region I Goalkeeper of the Year Duro Dragicevic helped get the advantage with a save, before Pima’s final kick sailed high, sending the Matadors to the District Championship against #3 ranked Salt Lake City.
Heading into the match the Bruins were previously unbeaten, but Arizona Western shocked the home crowd with a pair of goals on penalty kicks to hold an early advantage. The physical game produced a host of yellow cards and a double-yellow turned to a red and forced the Matadors to play down a man for the last twenty minutes. Despite a late goal from Salt Lake, Jesus Chillon provided an insurance goal before the Matadors lost another player due to the card situation. Still, the Matadors held on to capture the first District Championship in program history and punch their ticket to the NJCAA Tournament in Tyler, Texas.
The trip proved valuable, but the Matadors did not get out of pool play at the National Tournament. Still, Arizona Western ended on the national stage, furthering its upward trajectory and establishing Matador soccer as a powerful program.
The 2021 season was a milestone campaign for the Matadors who reached the National Tournament for the second time in program history, making it all the way to the national championship game. Under the guidance of Dale, the Matadors ripped through the regular season, posting an undefeated record heading into the postseason. The Matadors captured the program’s third Region I title with a 2-0 win over Yavapai before suffering their first loss of the season, a narrow 2-1 defeat at Salt Lake in the West District championship game. The Matadors would go on to sweep their way through pool play before avenging their District championship game loss with a 2-0 win over Salt Lake in the national semi-final.
The Matadors reached the national championship game for the first time in program history, falling to Iowa Western 2-0, finishing as national runner-up. Michele Signorelli, Ethan Warne, and Michael Appiah were all named All-Americans. Signorelli scored 17 goals, the eighth most in the country.
After a slow start to the 2022 campaign, the Matadors once again proved to be a force for a second consecutive season, winning 18 games, tying the 2010 team for fourth most wins in program history, and putting together an 18-3 record. The Matadors won the program's second straight Region I and ACCAC titles, beating Yavapai 2-1 in the Region I title game to earn a spot in the West District final. After falling to Salt Lake in the West District championship game last season, the Matadors brought home the West District crown in 2022, beating Snow College 3-2 in Ephraim, Utah to earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Championship.
The Matadors opened the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Championship with a 1-0 win over Otero before knocking off Tyler Junior College 2-1 in overtime thanks to a Luis Ortner goal. For a second consecutive year, the Matadors matched up with Salt Lake in the national semi-final, beating the Bears 2-1 to advance to the national title game where the Matadors fell 2-0 to Monroe College.