Photo by Jerry Montano
McPherson, Kan. – The Central Christian College men's soccer team advanced to the finals of the NCCAA Central Region tournament with a thrilling 4-3 win over the SAGU Lions on Tuesday afternoon. The Tigers squared off against the Lions in McPherson while the other semi-final featuring the Sterling College Warriors against the Wayland Baptist University Pioneers was played at the same time in Sterling, Kan.

The Tigers came out on fire and scored three goals in the first ten minutes of action. The Tigers got on the board quickly. Just two minutes and 44 seconds into the first half, the Tigers were awarded a corner kick. Marco Cherchi (So. Fontaneto D'Agogna, Italy) served a ball to the near post where Edoardo Salmaso (Sr. Due Carrare, Italy), was waiting to volley it home.

Five minutes later the Tigers were awarded another corner kick. On the kick Johnny Rodriguez (Jr. Anaheim, Calif.), was shoved from behind and the referee determined it was egregious enough to warrant a penalty kick. Rodriguez took the kick, burying the attempt into the side netting to his right as the Lions' goal keeper dove the other way.

At the 10:30 mark, the Lions tried to clear a ball but misplayed it, and a bouncing ball found the foot of Cherchi around the top of the 18 box. He took one step and hit a banger of a half volley off the outside of his right foot that curved in to the side netting of the far post.

Up three nil, the Tigers seemed to put it in cruise control, but the Lions weren't going to go away. In the 30^th minute, they got on the board, also off of a corner kick. Still the Tigers were firmly in control heading into the break, up 3-1.

In second half, the Lions were a completely different team. They were much quicker, and put continuous pressure on the Tigers from everywhere on the pitch. In the 78^th minute, the Lions scored on another corner kick. The Tigers' goal keeper, Timothy Foster (So. Palm Beach, Fla.), made a brilliant save on the initial header, but he couldn't corral the ball and it found the foot of another Lion and he buried the ball in the back of the net to make the score 3-2.

With that goal, all of the momentum swung in the direction of the Lions. With under three minutes left in regulation, the Lions found themselves in a rare moment in behind the Tiger defense. The Tigers had had done a nice job defensively in the run of play, but this time the Lions played a ball in behind and one of the forwards hit a rocket near post for the equalizer.

Tied at 3, the Tigers and Lions headed into overtime where two ten minute periods would be played regardless if either team scored in the period. Just over five minutes into the first overtime period, the Tigers would get what would turn out to be the game winner on yet another corner kick. Francisco Leite (Sr. Porto, Portugal), served a ball into the box and the Lions misplayed the clearance. Riccardo Di Vincenzo (Sr. Trapani, Italy) was paying attention, and took advantage of the miscue, slotting the ball past the keeper and giving his team the lead again.

Leading 4-3, the Tigers were still not out of the woods. They had to survive the next 14 plus minutes of overtime. In that time span, the Tigers had at least one if not two quality looks at goal, and at the same time Foster came up with two huge saves, to keep the Tigers up a goal. In the end, the Tigers escaped with a 4-3 win, setting up a rematch with Wayland Baptist University in the finals on Wednesday.

Coach Hoxie summed up the afternoon saying, "Proud of how we started the game tonight, 3 goals in 10 minutes! Our objective was to start quickly, and to try and take the advantage of their travel weariness. Was fortunate that things went our way. The lesson to be learned is that three goals isn't enough, especially when four and five are in our foot. It's game over if we take one of those chances. As things tend to go, we took the foot off the gas, and these guys crawled themselves back into things. Fair play to them, they earned it, and it was a great comeback by their group. Credit where credit is due."

He went on to add, "Extra time is just a boxing match. For us, it was about getting over the feelings, and setting forth to achieve our standard. Which we did. Probably should have had two goals, but one will do nicely. Finals tomorrow 2:00 pm vs Wayland, for a chance to go back to back. See you all there."

As Coach Hoxie alluded to, a win tomorrow over Wayland, and the Tigers will punch their ticket for a return trip to Florida for the NCCAA National Tournament.