(Story courtesy of the Colorado College Sports Information Department)
ATLANTA, Ga. -- It came down to penalty kicks in Atlanta. The Colorado College men's soccer team outlasted the Emory Eagles 1-1 (PKs) after making all five attempts. Keeper Jasper Broad saved the second kick from the Eagles.
After being up 1-0 at the half, Emory tied it up in the 84th minute to force the eventual overtime. Both OT halves came and went before both teams lined up knotted up at 1-1. Charlie Wagner converted first for the Tigers followed by Jack Hilliard making his. Broad was faced off against Emory's Colton Myers and blocked the shot to an exhilaration from the Tigers' bench.
Curtis Hale and Alex Meyerhoff drained their attempts followed by the Eagles responding with their third penalty conversion. Finally, Alexander Ward backed up and drilled it past Emory's keeper followed by a celebration 30 years in the making.
The last time CC made it to the Sweet 16 was in 1993. The last time the program won multiple NCAA Tournament games in the same run was 1992, the year the Tigers made their first and only Final Four appearance.
"I felt a sense of calm, even when things got a little hairy there at the end," head coach Scott Palguta said. "I think just watching the guys, the way they fought for each other and maintained their calm and purpose, every movement was thoughtful and intentional. That's the sign of a team who is really focused and has the ability to play from start to finish despite the circumstances."
The Tigers controlled the pace throughout the entire first half and limited the Eagles offense to only one shot. CC had possession of the ball the majority of the first and outshot Emory 6-3.
Connor Webster and Oliver Ramirez got off the first two shots of the game in the seventh and ninth minutes.
The Tigers kept pressuring, looking for the seams to try to get a ball on target. It was the third shot of the game that ended up opening the door for CC as Alexander Ward fired a beam right at Emory keeper Peter Wagner. He could only punch it away where Webster was in the perfect position for the rebound and the goal to put CC on the board.
That was Webster's eighth goal of the season, tied for a team-high, and it was Ward's eighth assist this year which leads the team.
Emory wouldn't get their first shot off until the 26th minute. Their next one was on target but CC keeper Jasper Broad made a fantastic save in the 45th minute to keep it a one-goal match going into the halftime break.
The start of the second half was much of the same story except both offensives got more aggressive looks as time wore down. The Eagles took five shots before ultimately finding the back of the net in the 84th minute when Alejandro Gomez snuck it past Broad for the equalizer.
CC wasn't limited in the second half in terms of shots but gave up a couple more fouls than the Eagles did which created more opportunities for the host team.
When Emory finally broke through and tied it up with under six minutes to play. Neither team had a look for the remainder of regulation. In overtime, the story was much the same as the stalemate drew on for another 20 minutes.
The last time CC won an overtime match was on Oct. 8, 2021, in a 2-1 decision over the University of Dallas.
The Tigers finished the game with 15 shots to the Eagles' 13. Oliver Ramirez had a team-high four shots with two being on target. Webster finished with two shots including the goal in the first half. Broad faced six shots and had five saves.
"You look across our roster and we find a way to get it done," Palguta said. "We don't rely on that 20-goal scorer. We do everything by committee. Jasper [Broad] has a great weekend in goal. Both games I thought he was fantastic."
CC will play Ohio Northern in the Sweet 16 matchup, which is the second time the two will face off this season. The Tigers brought the then No. 13 Polar Bears to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 9 in Ada, OH.
