EUGENE, Ore. – For the first time since the current single-site CCC Championship Tournament was initiated, a championship game came down to penalty kicks in an epic duel between No. 1 seed Southern Oregon University and the third-seeded Rocky Mountain Bears. After a 1-1 draw, Rocky Mountain emerged as champions, winning the shootout, 4-3.
Appropriately, the game was close in nearly every statistical category. While SOU held a 14-13 edge in shot attempts, both teams made seven shots-on-goal, and the Keepers each made six saves.
The teams also owned seven corner kicks each, and it was a corner kick that saved the game for the Bears. Trailing 1-0 in the 73rd minute, Tulio Melo hit a strike from 18-yards, collecting a ricochet off of Sky Swenson’s corner kick to tie the game.
After a scoreless first half, Southern Oregon had taken the 1-0 lead on a header from Mitchell Pinney, on a long distance service pass from Brendan Allen.
After a pair of uneventful overtime periods, the shootout commenced. Two incredible saves during the proceedings by Rocky’s Kristofer Wennin, set up the final winning strike from Swensen.
With their tournament victory, Rocky Mountain earns the CCC’s second automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship tournament. Southern Oregon claimed the first automatic bid by virtue of their regular-season championship.