Entering the Region-24 Tournament as the second seed, the Heartland men's soccer squad knew it would likely have to win on the road to take home the championship. The Hawks would do just that, as a hat trick by Mario Fairweather lifted the visitors to a 4-1 victory Saturday at top-seeded Parkland College to claim the championship trophy and advance to districts.
 
Following a scoreless first half by both squads, Fairweather got the Hawks on the board with a goal in the 50^th minute. Parkland's Ron Naftall would tie the contest just moments later on a penalty kick in the 54^th minute, but Fairweather would again break the tie by finding the net in the 63^rd minute on a Joe Delaney assist.
 
Delaney scored a goal of his own in the 67^th minute, this time with Fairweather on the assist before Fairweather rounded-out the scoring with his third goal in the 78^th minute, with Anderson Micolta contributing the assist. Goalkeeper Oliver Butler finished with three saves for the Hawks.
 
The Hawks opened the week with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday against Southwestern Illinois College in the Region-24 Tournament semifinals at The Corn Crib. Fairweather added another assist to his tally on Mohammad Sanyang's goal in the 19^th minute to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage. Delaney scored in the 27^th minute on a Sanyang assist before Raul Oliu found Marcos Mateos in the 32^nd minute as Heartland enjoyed a 3-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
 
SWIC stayed within striking distance with a goal in the 50^th minute, and another in the 86^th minute. The defense of the Hawks held strong in the closing moments, however, to secure the victory. Goalkeeper Kevin Lambert finished with five saves for the Hawks, while Butler contributed two saves.
 
Following the conclusion of Saturday's championship win, Delaney, Mateos and Tomas Barros were all named to the Region-24 All-Region Team. The Hawks will now advance to the district semifinals, which will begin with a 2 pm matchup with St. Charles Community College on Friday at St. Louis Community College. The winner of the four-team tournament will advance to the NJCAA DII National Tournament, which will take place Nov. 12-18 at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz.