CCC Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament, Presented by U.S. Bank, Preview
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The 2019 Cascade Collegiate Conference Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank kicks off in Springfield, Ore., Tuesday morning, with a trophy and a trip to the NAIA Championship on the line.
Northwest Christian University hosts the tournament, with live stats and live video ($7.95 per game pay-per-view) for all CCC Championships games being made available through the CCC
Stretch Internet Portal.
After winning the regular-season title with an undefeated record, No. 18-ranked Corban University (14-0-2, 12-0-1 CCC) grabbed the top seed of the tournament and takes on eighth-seeded College of Idaho (8-8-0, 6-7-0 CCC) at 11 a.m. in the opening quarterfinal round. The last time these two teams met, the Warriors claimed a 2-0 win, despite a scoreless first half. Corban is led by Matheus Giron (13 goals, five assists), while the Coyotes have a solid, balanced attack with four Yotes scoring five or more goals – Ahmet Huremovic, Ben Bechor, Bekir Cinac and Jack O’Leary (six goals).
The other 11 a.m. matchup puts No. 2 seed Rocky Mountain College (12-4-0, 11-2-0 CCC) against No. 7 seed The Evergreen State College (8-9-0, 6-7-0 CCC). Back in September, the Battlin’ Bears came away with a 1-0 road win on the Geoducks’ home turf, with both teams taking 10 shots in the game. RMC’s Milo Downey scored in just the first minute of action, proving to be the difference maker. The Bears also have Nolan Sherwood as an offensive threat as he leads the NAIA in total game-winning goals (seven) and leads the CCC with 15 goals on the year. Joe DiCarlo and Mitchell Balmer share the lead for Evergreen’s most goals scored at seven a piece.
Third-seeded Southern Oregon University (12-5-1, 10-2-1 CCC) takes on six-seed Northwest University (9-8-1, 6-6-1 CCC) at 2 p.m. The Eagles get a rematch of their regular-season finale where the Raiders took the game 3-1. NU’s Jordan Travis (12 goals) scored first, but SOU saw Brendan Allen even the game in the 38
th minute, before Pessoa de Oliveira and Michael Miller also found the back of the net. Miller has played an integral part of SOU’s defense with two goals and six assists on the year, while limiting the Raiders’ opponents to just 17 goals on the year.
The final quarterfinal matchup kicks off at 2 p.m. between No. 4-seeded Oregon Tech (10-5-3, 7-5-1 CCC) and fifth-seeded Eastern Oregon University (9-8-1, 7-6-0 CCC). The Hustlin’ Owls dominated the last matchup with the Mountaineers, grabbing a 4-0 victory at home. John Sarna (team-high seven goals) scored twice, while Jake Mitchell and Brock Rideout also got in on the action. EOU’s Javier Moran looks to build on his seven goals on the year and help the Mounties get revenge.
Before the tournament gets rolling, the CCC Postseason Awards Banquet happens tonight where all-conference and the top awards will be announced. Fans can watch the event for free on the CCC
Stretch Internet Portal, beginning at 6:30 p.m. PT.