FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 13^th, 2024
 
Medford, Ore.| The Knights Men's Soccer team fell short in overtime against Eastern Oregon University in the semifinal game of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament this evening by a final score of 2-1.
 
The Knights struggled to match the speed of Eastern Oregon in the first half. Eastern was winning all the 50-50 balls in the air and were just getting to lose balls a hair before our guys were able to. Even with that being the case, the Knights were able to hold the Mountaineers off the board for almost all of the first half. However, they weren't quite able to get the game to halftime with the score knotted up at zero. Eastern was able to get a corner with 11 seconds left in the first half that was headed in to make the score 1-0 at the half in favor of Eastern Oregon.
 
The Knights knew they had to come out of the half with more intensity, focus, and purpose and they were able to do just that finally winning some 50-50 balls and keeping the ball on the scoring end more. There extra effort was paid off in the 60^th minute when Antonio Cipriano was able to score a goal that went in and out of the Eastern goalkeepers' hands to knot the game up at one. From there it was a seesaw battle with both teams having some solid chances. At the end of 90 minutes, the scoreboard read 1-1 and the game went into overtime.
 
Overtime this season was changed to a golden goal scenario and that proved to be costly for the Knights as after more than nine minutes into the 10-minute overtime period, Eastern Oregon was able to score a crazy one in a million goal to send them to the CCC Tournament Championship Game to face Carroll College. Coupled with Carroll College's win earlier in the day, Eastern Oregon's win against the Knights secures them the second automatic qualifier for the NAIA National Tournament since Carroll already had the first qualifier due to winning the regular season championship.
 
Head Coach, Troy Ready, reflects on the season that was. "For the second consecutive season, we've had the heartbreaking experience of losing in the conference semifinals," Troy Ready said. "With that being said, I am extremely proud of the team that we became as the season unfolded. We dealt with an unprecedented amount of injuries and obstacles but the players showed incredible resilience and character to find a way to showcase their potential. It's an honor and joy to coach such amazing individuals."
 
Next Up
The Knights have a very good nucleus for next season with their leading goal scorer Bodo Calderon coming back and a defensive backfield that is very talented and experienced. Head coach, Troy Ready is already focused on recruiting for next season so that his team can get passed this gut-wrenching defeat and get back to this game next season.