Oakland City, IN – After a nerve-racking first semifinal between Asbury University and Campbellsville University, which ended in a penalty shootout, the Mighty Oaks took the field at 2:00 PM. In a close game, that went to overtime, the home squad fell short versus Covenant College.
In the game, where placement for the finals tomorrow was on the line, it took a while for either offense to get something going. Not many chances were created in the first half. The Scots of Covenant College were able to fire two shots on goal, while the Mighty Oaks created three scoring opportunities.
On a cold Aigner Field, where the temperature did not get over 35 degrees Fahrenheit, it was the home squad that was able to open up the score. After two shots on goal, by
Roberto Dominguez and
Giorgio Alberti, which were both saved by the Scots' goalkeeper, the Mighty Oaks found the net in the 71
st minute. Senior forward
Reijmar Westerbroek, who had just been put in the game, kicked in the first goal for Oakland City after an assist by
James O'Brien.
Not much later, O'Brien was charged with a red card, which put the Mighty Oaks in a big disadvantage, playing with ten players versus eleven. Two minutes after the red card, Covenant College was able to find a hole in the Oakland City defense and scored the 1-1 in the 84
th minute.
Due to the score being tied in this elimination game, overtime was needed. Two ten-minute periods were added to the game. In the 96
th minute, the Scots broke through and had a good change of scoring. The opportunity got stopped in the penalty area, but a foul was called. Jay Patterson of Covenant College kicked in the penalty in the bottom left corner. Goalie
Laurin Aumueller dove to the save corner but just missed his change to be the hero for the Mighty Oaks.
To start the second period of overtime, Covenant College expanded their lead with another goal right after kick-off. With the score now being 3-1, the chances for Oakland City to advance were getting slimmer and slimmer as the clock started running out of time. The Mighty Oaks were able to fire one more shot on goal, but it was unsuccessful and with that, the season for the Mighty Oaks men's soccer team was over. They ended their season with a 9-7-5 record, in the first season under the helm of coach
Adam Sell.
Tomorrow, the NCCAA Mideast Regional final will take place at Aigner Field. At noon, Campbellsville University and Covenant College will take the pitch for a spot in the national championships which will take place in Kissimmee, Florida, later this month.
