PORTLAND, Ore. – Warner Pacific goalkeeper Sean Ervin turned aside two Concordia penalty kicks to push the Knights to their first ever CCC Tournament Championship at David Douglas HS field today.
The clash between Portland soccer rivals could not be decided in 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. With the game tied at 1-1, the sides turned to a shootout to decide the winner and berth in the NAIA National Tournament.
The play on the field was exciting, as both teams generated several good opportunities in their offensive end. CU’s Mirza Ramic cracked a long shot in the 41st minute that was directed right of the post by Ervin. WP’s Joel Duenas received a nice crossing pass with less than 10 seconds to play in the half, but his header missed the crossbar by inches.
The back and forth action continued in the 2nd period, as each team was on the attack. Warner Pacific earned 9 corner kicks in the game, which was countered by 11 corner kicks from Concordia.
Alija Sacirovic finally broke through for the Knights in the 70th minute, controlling a long free kick from Pat Connolly and lacing an 8 yard strike past Cavalier keeper Claudio Lazar.
Undeterred, the visiting Cavs pushed forward and were rewarded just 6 minutes later thanks to a scoring effort from Jared Brace. Turner Bloom placed a crossing pass into the box that Brace one-timed into the back of the net for his 15th goal of the year.
Each team registered 2 shots and 2 corner kicks in the overtime periods, but the extra time did not settle the issue.
The Championship came down to a shootout, which set the table for Ervin’s heroics. The junior from Vancouver, Wash. batted away two of the Cavalier attempts while all four tries from Warner Pacific were true, sending the Knight bench on to the field in a frenzy.
Warner Pacific (12-4-2) now awaits seeding from the NAIA national office to learn who their first round opponent will be. Concordia finishes their season at 12-5-2.