The Sooner Athletic men soccer tournament opened up today with #8 Central Christian College at #1 Southwestern Christian University.  The Tigers earned their way into the tournament with two wins the final week of the regular season during the Texas road trip.  Southwestern Christian, who just earned the #18 spot in the NAIA Top 25 National ranking earlier this week, came in as the undefeated #1 seed. 

Coach Hoxie opened up before the match saying, "First off…I call SCU undefeated because they abandoned the match leading 3-0 with 20 minutes left when one of their guys was racially abused last week.  We stand up with the player who was abused and I want to add that there is no room for this nonsense in our game, especially our league.  We need to stand for truth and set our mind on things above."

The game started off as expected, with SCU having the ball, and CCCK keeping their shape and nullifying the threats.  The game would be a dull affair with the first real attempt at goal coming around 15 minutes in.  The Tigers would threaten the Eagles goal first, with Leslie finding Drew into space, but his shot was speculative and went harmlessly wide.  Moments after that Leslie found the ball at the top of the box, but his shot sailed over.  It wasn't until midway into the half that SCU looked threatening.  A free kick was blocked by the stout back line and the shot of the ensuing corner went wide. 

As the half began to wear on, the game started to open up with both teams having attempts on goal.  The Tigers were unlucky on several occasions as two shots found the post, and Leslies point blank header was saved smartly by the outstretched goalkeeper.  The senior forward was unlucky not to score on this occasion.  In fact, he was the Tigers most effective player going forward, giving the Eagle defense something to worry about.  But the half would end all square at nil. 

"Excellent first half from my guys.  We literally ground this game into a pulp.  We allowed possession and did not extend our lines due to a few things we noticed on the scouting film, and they proved to be true.  We approached this game tactically a little bit different than normal and the kids executed it perfectly this half."

The second half would start out very similar to the first half.  The Tigers were defending and grinding the game down, eating clock, and generally frustrating the Eagles.  The Eagles would knock the ball around probing for a weakness, finding none, would just wait for a free kick to happen so they could lob it in.  However, with 20 minutes left the Eagles overall quality began to show its face, and the game became one way traffic.  The Eagles were finding themselves in dangerous situations but fortunately for the Tigers, they were able to overcome it.  Some timely saves, committed blocks, a post, blood, and a save off the line were all the Tigers needed to keep the game dead locked. 

"We were fully prepared for them to elevate themselves.  They began to figure out how to attack our set up, and we were able to adjust tactically.  It took a few minutes to get the right players on the field, but once we did, we just needed to see out the moment.  This is soccer…they had all of their dangerous chances during this period of the game, and we just needed to ride it out by out working them.  Seba and the back line were absolutely rock solid during this phase.  They snuffed out every dangerous situation that arose, and their timing in tackles was excellent.  When called on, Seba kept us in the game.  Of course, when things are going your way, you get the lucky bounces…and we were saved by the post with 2 seconds left."

Up next was two (10) minute overtime periods where the game would end when the first team scored.  Unlike the end of the second half, the overtimes would see the Tigers on the front foot for both sessions as they outshot the Eagles 4-1.  However, with no goal, the game would end in a draw, but would need someone to advance in the tournament.  That would be decided in penalties. 

"We did what we came here for.  If they don't score, you can't lose.  Simple as that.  I knew that our fitness levels were higher and that we could sustain their pressure for long periods, that was never in doubt.  But we got through this with our commitment to each other, love for each other, desire to compete and spill life's blood for the cause…we did it together.  I am very proud of every kid on this squad, including the lads that didn't make the trip.  This team has been a team of destiny from the very beginning.  Our season has ended at their hands every year since 2013…it was only a matter of time, and the law of averages was on our side.  However, this team has spent all season wanting to change the legacy of this team.  We wanted to make other teams think differently about playing us…todays win changes everything.  I don't think that these guys quite realize what they've done today.  The great thing…we get one more game!"

In the shootout, the Tigers would win 4-1.  Matias, Ismael, Conrado, and Tyler, would all convert expertly giving the GK zero chance at making it.  Of course the hero would be Sebastian coming in with two saves.  "I knew that if we could make the first penalty, it would settle the nerves of all the guys behind him.  So we had our penalty taker go first, and it paid off, what a gem of a shootout.  All the lads buried theirs…literally, this was the best shootout I've been a part of.  Of course…there's Sebastian.  What a rock.  I told the guys before the event, go have fun, and enjoy the moment…the pressure is on them, and we've got the best goalkeeper on the field.  He is going to win it for us."

The Tigers will travel on Tuesday April 6 to take on #5 John Brown University, who were 1-0 winners at #4 Wayland Baptist earlier today.  Kick off will be announced tomorrow.