CARSON, Calif. – In a wild, back-and-forth first round matchup against No. 7 seed California State University Los Angeles, the No. 10 seeded University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team prevailed to defeat the Golden Eagles in PKs as they advanced through their first NCAA playoff match in program history and punched their ticket to the second round of the national tournament.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 3, CSULA 3 (UCCS Advances on PKs 4-2)
Records: UCCS (11-5-5, 7-2-1 RMAC), CSULA (8-4-7, 5-3-2 CCAA)
Facility: Toro Stadium | Carson, Calif.
All-Time Series: Friday's match marked the first meeting in program history against the Golden Eagles.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountain Lions faced some early adversity in their first-round matchup against Cal State LA as the Golden Eagles scored twice in the first 20 minutes of the match to grab a 2-0 advantage.
• CSULA took advantage of a turnover at midfield by the Mountain Lions in the seventh minute as Angel Sandres took the ball away from the UCCS defensive backline and streaked towards the frame for a one-on-one showdown with Mountain Lion goalkeeper Hugo Sjöberg. The UCCS netminder did well to come out of his stance and initially prevented the Golden Eagles' forward from scoring, but as Sandres maneuvered in the box, he was fouled by Mountain Lion defender Dimitrios Leonoglou, resulting in a penalty kick opportunity that was converted by Emil Kischka.
• The Golden Eagles struck again in the 19^th minute when Emiliano Gutierrez led a pass forward to Alex Mendez, who quickly collected the ball and fired a 25-yard strike into the top-left corner of the net to push Cal State LA's advantage to two goals.
• Despite the rocky start, the Mountain Lions saw the momentum shift in their favor in the 30^th minute when Cal State LA committed a foul just outside the 18-yard box, giving UCCS a free kick opportunity from a prime spot on the pitch. Diego Macias lined up on the ball for the Mountain Lions and unleashed a laser off his right foot into the top-right corner of the frame to cut the team's deficit to 2-1.  
• Less than five minutes later in the 35^th minute, the Mountain Lions manufactured another scoring opportunity with Eduardo Macias and Sean Belzer connecting on subsequent passes to push the ball into the box, where Jack Cook came streaking in to meet the ball and tap it into the nylon, evening the match at two goals apiece.
• The Mountain Lions continued to push the envelope on the offensive end of the ball across the final 10 minutes of the opening half and took full advantage of a defensive miscue in the 39^th minute as Cook sent a corner kick into the box that was redirected into the net by a Cal State LA defender, giving the Mountain Lions a 3-2 lead on the Golden Eagles' own goal. Following the CSULA gaffe, the Mountain Lions and Golden Eagles held each other in check for the remaining minutes of the first half with UCCS carrying a one-goal lead into the halftime break.
• After the whirlwind that was the first half, the second period of the match was largely pedestrian as the Mountain Lions attempted to prevent Cal State LA from finding an equalizer. UCCS faced plenty of pressure on the defensive end of the ball with the Golden Eagles taking 15 total shots and putting five shots on goal in the half, but the Mountain Lions held tight until the final minute of the match when they were called for a foul inside the box, giving Cal State LA a last-minute chance to shoot from the penalty stripe and even the score. Kischka stepped up to take the penalty kick for the Golden Eagles once again and struck the ball towards the bottom left corner of the frame. Sjöberg guessed the direction of Kischka's kick correctly and managed to get a hand on the ball, however it still trickled into the nylon to equalize the match at three goals apiece and send the two teams into overtime.
• With the start of overtime, UCCS ramped up their offensive attack as they searched for the game-ending score. The Mountain Lions put immense pressure on the Golden Eagles defense throughout the first and second overtime periods, recording seven total shots and four shots on goal in 20 minutes of action, but were unable to find the back of the net as the match continued to the penalty shootout.  
• In PKs, the Mountain Lions missed their first opportunity but made their next four shots while the Golden Eagles missed their second shot and had their third shot saved by Sjöberg as UCCS secured a 4-2 win in the shootout to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The full result of the penalty kick shootout is listed below.

Penalty Kicks
Miles Seminario (UCCS): Off Left Post
Marcos Lipertis (CSULA): Scored
Nick Walker (UCCS): Scored
Ignacio Moreno (CSULA): Missed
Luke Noameshie (UCCS): Scored
Andreas Christou (CSULA): Saved
Gustavo Diaz Avila: Scored
Alex Mendez (CSULA): Scored
Jack Cook (UCCS): Scored
 
STATS FROM THE GAME

• Cal State LA held a 21-13 advantage over the Mountain Lions in total shots, but both teams recorded seven shots on goal. UCCS held a slight lead in corner kicks (6-5)
• D. Macias netted his first goal of the season in the 30^th minute, while Cook's goal in the 35^th minute was his fourth of the season and third in the past two matches.
• E. Macias and Belzer were each credited with an assist on Cook's goal, with E. Macias now leading the team with four on the season and Belzer now tied for second on the squad with three.
• Five Mountain Lions recorded multiple shots in the match with E. Macias pacing the team with three shots while Cook, Rory Scott, Dillon Clarke, and Dalton Uehling each took two shots.
• UCCS had four field players stay on the pitch for the full 110 minutes, including Leonoglou, Scott, Miles Seminario, and Luke Noameshie.
• Sjöberg spent the entire match between the sticks for the Mountain Lions, surrendering three goals while making four saves. Two of the goals surrendered by Sjöberg came on penalty kicks during regulation, however the redshirt junior keeper came up with a huge save during PKs that ultimately helped UCCS secure the shootout victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Mountain Lions penalty kick shootout victory over the Golden Eagles marks the program's first time advancing in the NCAA Tournament. UCCS will be appearing in the second round of the national tournament for the second consecutive year.
• Friday's contest marked the Mountain Lions first overtime match since defeating Colorado School of Mines in double overtime in last season's RMAC Quarterfinal round on Nov. 10, 2024. It was also the team's first time going to a penalty kick shootout since going to PKs in the RMAC Quarterfinal round against MSU Denver in 2017.
• With 110 minutes of action today, Sjöberg broke the program's all-time record for minutes played in a single-season as he has now logged 1,910 minutes for the campaign.

UP NEXT

• With their victory over the Golden Eagles, the Mountain Lions advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will take on No. 2 seed California State University Dominguez Hills on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. (MT).

SOCIAL
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions 
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
 
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics. Read Full Article