Wichita, KS - The Patriots Men's Soccer team continued their Battle for the Red Banner against the reigning champions, MidAmerica Nazarene University, earlier this afternoon. In the Quarterfinal match, UC fought with grit through a penalty shootout to advance on to the NAIA National Championship Semifinals for the first time in program history.
Collectively, UC marked 17 shots with six on frame. Leading the way for the Patriots, Mario Fernandez Garcia netted Cumberlands lone goal of the match. Hugo Champalloux marked three shots with two on goal, while Bruno Marques and Gerard Liao tallied two shots with one on frame each.
The Patriots were hot from the start, seeing their lone goal of the game come in the '3. Patrick Ostergreen sent a pass across the box to Fernandez Garcia, giving UC an early 1-0 lead.
The Pioneers worked to attack on the offensive third, seeing their first shot on goal in the 13th minute. The Pioneers continued to attack on offense, forcing Javiero Izquierdo Cuervo to mark his second save of the match in the 26th minute.
A pair of substitutions late in the first half saw UC with fresh legs on the pitch. Shortly after entering the match, Tjerk Meijs hit off the post, Liao marked a shot on frame and Emil Skursch recorded a shot that was blocked by the Pioneers. At the break, Cumberlands held strong to their 1-0 lead.
In the second half, the Pats quickly took to their offensive third of the pitch. Within three minutes, Skursch lined up for the corner kick and found the boot of Liao but just missed high.
In the '58, Cumberlands took five straight corner kicks and saw shots from Skursch, Champalloux, and Shuma Sasaki but were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. The Patriots continued to be on the offensive third of the pitch but were unable to add to their lead.
In the final ten seconds of the match, the Pioneers tied the match at 1-1 to send it to overtime. Both teams were evenly matched during the overtime regulation, seeing the Pats with four shots while the Pioneers had two shots. During both overtime periods, neither team was able to score the golden goal and sent the match into a penalty shootout.
With both teams seasons on the line, the Patriots formed their penalty kick lineup as follows: Salvador Martinez, Skursch, Bart-Jan Braams, Adrian Choco, Fabio Galeano Bazan, Gabriel Canineu, and Nicolas Caicedo.
Martinez and Skursch both netted their penalty's into the back of the net to make the score 2-2. Braams missed his penalty kick, giving the Pioneers an advantage. Trailing 4-3, Galeano Bazan netted his penalty to even the score at 4-4. The Pioneers attempted to end the Patriots season, but Izquierdo Cuervo made a diving save to leave the score 4-4.
In an edge of your seat moment, Canineu and Caicedo both made their penalties to put the pressure on the Pioneers. With a 6-5 Patriots lead, Izquierdo Cuervo made another diving save to send the Patriots into the NAIA National Championship Semifinals match.
Cumberlands remains in Wichita, KS at the Scheels Stryker Sports Complex for the NAIA National Championship Semifinals. UC will face the No. 1 seed, Dalton State College, on Saturday, December 7 at 1:00 p.m. (CST).
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