After 90 minutes of regulation, two overtime periods, hard collisions and even harder kicks, it had come down to this:
Cole Catlin against an array of Marymount (Calif.) kickers.
Catlin won.
The sophomore goal keeper from Billings stoned three Mariner shot attempts and teammates Tiago Ewald, Jack Clancy and Jace Beck made theirs to give Rocky Mountain College a 3-1 men's soccer win on penalty kicks on a cold Saturday afternoon at Wendy’s Field.
The first-round win of the NAIA playoffs advances the 10th-ranked Battlin’ Bears to the round of 16 for the national tournament in Delray Beach, Fla., Nov. 30-Dec. 5. It's the first time in program history that Rocky has advanced this far.
The teams were scoreless through regulation and two overtimes to set up the dramatic finish.
“It’s really a mental game,” Catlin said of the penalty-kick situation. “You’re trying to read your opponent. The pressure is on the shooter. They’re expected to make those shots. So when you get a stop, it’s a big momentum swing.”
Catlin opened with a save against Joshua Jibrandey and then Rocky’s Ewald got his team on the board with a shot to the left.
Catlin followed with stops against MCU goal keeper Clark Lydon and Adis Islamovic.
“The way they set up the ball is a primary cue for me,” Catlin said. “Some days, you can tell where they are going, some days you can’t. Today was one of those days I made the right reads.”Jack Clancy tapped a goal to the right and Jace Beck hit the clincher as fans and players crowded the field to watch.
“With the penalty kicks, I was more relaxed. There is nothing you can do at that point,” Duffy said. “Cole, what an unbelievable performance. He just has that knack of being in the right place.”
It's the second time in three matches the Battlin’ Bears won on penalty kicks. It's also Rocky’s second straight shutout win.
“I don’t think the defense has been overlooked, maybe overshadowed,” Catlin said. “Today was a solid all-around effort by everybody.”
The Battlin’ Bears limited high-scoring Marymount to four shots, all on goal. The Mariners ranked second nationally for goals per game (4.55) and total goals (88).
“The defense was outstanding today,” Duffy said. “Their No. 10 (Felipe Garcia Da Silva, Cal Pac Conference Player of the Year) is a special player. And I thought we denied him opportunities. We had great defensive intensity. We didn’t let them kick it around.”
Rocky was without freshman forwards Steven Forbes (hamstring) and Nolan Sherwood (illness). The two have combined to score 21 goals.
“We’re pretty deep this year. That’s one of our strengths. We have other players who stepped up today,” Duffy said.
“This is huge for us. For me, it was just exciting to see the looks on the players’ faces after we won.”