BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Making their first ever NAIA National Tournament appearance, Tech battled hard but ultimately fell to Lyon College on penalty kicks. The Thursday afternoon match was played to a 110-minute stalemate, and it was the Scots' keeper who stepped up to make two penalty saves to send his 2nd-seeded team to the next round.
"Tough way to go out, but I couldn't be prouder of the group and all they accomplished in this record breaking season," said head coach
Casey Tate. "I am so proud of our seniors and the legacy they have left behind. We did our best to make Oregon Tech, Klamath Falls and the cascade conference proud. Thanks to our administration, staff and players for all their hard work this season. As well as a huge thanks to all our fans who have supported us through this amazing journey."
#2 Lyons College (Ark.) 0 (4) #3 Oregon Tech 0 (2)
Heading into Thursday's match, Tech was making their first ever appearance in the NAIA Men's Soccer National Tournament. After a historic regular-season filled with many first-time feats, the Hustlin' Owls were playing with house money, looking to make a deep postseason run.
In the first half, OIT was forced to drop back and defend for a majority of the opening 45 minutes. Lyons committed a lot of numbers forward and peppered
Joel Witts' frame, resulting in the Scots outshooting the Owls 11-2 in the first period.
However, in the second period it was Tech who saw the better chances between the two.
The Hustlin' Owls worked down the flanks well and got a plethora of looks, but none would lead to a goal.
After a 90-minute stalemate, OIT would head to overtime for the third straight match. Tech did a better job of pressing forward in the second half, but Lyons ended regulation having outshot the Owls 17-7.
In the first overtime period, both sides registered a shot but neither threatened the other keeper.
In the second overtime period, the script remained the same as both defenses remained steadfast and the match would head to penalty kicks.
In the shootout,
Jake Mitchell stepped up to the spot first, and buried his penalty to put Tech ahead 1-0. On the next kick, Paul Florian-Efang sent
Joel Witts the wrong way to level the shootout at 1.
On Tech's next kick,
Gavin Wilmott saw his penalty saved by Ignacio Suarez. Lyon would convert the next kick to put the Scots up 2-1.
Jake Mitchell would follow Wilmott with a make, before
Reilly Combs missed Tech's fourth penalty.
With Combs' miss, the Scots led 3-2 with the chance to win the match on a successful spot kick. Andrei Garcia stepped up for Lyon and buried it in the top left corner to advance his side to the next round.
Nevertheless, the season ends as a big success for Oregon Tech. Not only did they compete in the NAIA National Tournament for the first time, but they won their first conference title, first conference tournament, and had the best record in all of the CCC this season.
The Owls return the bulk of the roster next year and has bright future.
