By JOE BUIE, Staff Writer, Tyler Morning Telegraph

The Tyler Junior College men's soccer team begins what it hopes is a run to the national tournament today.

The No. 3 Apaches (12-2-1) play Lon Morris (11-7-2) at noon in a Region XIV semifinal in Houston on the campus of San Jacinto South.

San Jacinto, the top seed and No. 4 team in the nation, plays the TJC-Lon Morris winner at 1 p.m. Saturday for the regional title.

The Region XIV champion will advance to a four-team district tournament Nov. 7 in Tyler.

The Apaches swept Lon Morris in the regular season, 1-0 and 2-1. TJC has a loss and a tie against San Jacinto.

TJC head coach Steve Clements said the intensity always picks up in the playoffs, when one loss sends a team home.

"Everybody plays harder at this stage," Clements said. "Again, with 20 freshmen and five sophomores, we hope our guys will respond to this level of tournament play."

The Apaches beat Lon Morris, 2-1, in last year's regional semifinals before losing to San Jacinto in a shootout.

TJC's probable starters are Dan Shannon and either Kenny Mena or Mike Taylor at forward; Adam Girdlestone, Kareem Freitas, Lyle Bennett and Deni Lulic in the midfield; Faizel Damons, Allen Thompson, Shaunovan Wilson and Micah Johnson in the back; and sophomore Ben Paneccasio at goalkeeper.

Paneccasio has allowed only one goal this season.

Link to Original Article:  http://tylerpaper.com/article/20081031/SPORTS06/810310365