Box Score | Yote Recap | Raider Recap
EUGENE, Ore. – College of Idaho was crowned the 2023 Cascade Collegiate Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament Champions today at Civic Park in Eugene, Oregon.
The #3 seed College of Idaho (12-3-4, 9-2-2 CCC) worked its way through the CCC Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, to face the #1 seed Southern Oregon University, resulting in a 1-0 victory. C of I was also the only team to defeat the No. 20-ranked SOU (18-3, 12-1 CCC) during the regular season.
After shutting out The Evergreen State College (2-0) in the Quarterfinals and advancing past Warner Pacific University (1-1, 5-4 PK) in the Semifinals, the Yotes were determined to clinch its first tournament title in 20 years.
The only thing in their way was the Raiders who have had unbelievable season, which continued into the tournament with a 4-0 shutout over Corban University in the Quarterfinals and a 4-1 win over Oregon Tech in the Semifinals.
The game began like any championship, with heighten emotion before sophomore midfilder Eric Hornung scored 15 minutes in, off an assist from a throw-in by Dani Alejos. This would become the lone goal of the game as the teams battled hard until the clock ran out. With 12 total, C of I took more shots, but SOU had more on target with six.
This forced a defensive showdown as both goalkeepers put on an amazing performance. CCC Rize Laboratory Defender of the Year, Casey Ruvolo, completed three saves for the Raiders. Tom Baynard-Smith, had a fantastic game in net, coming in clutch when the Yotes needed him most. The All-CCC First Team member completed six saves, helping lead to the clean sheet victory.
"This is a long journey of trials and successes," said College of Idaho head coach Thom Baker. "This young group of men have been a wonderful group to work with. So dedicated, so positive, so together. They're as much of a family as any team that we have had out here. It's well deserved for these guys."
SOU’s win streak ended at 11 after appearing in the final for the first time since 2018. However, as the Regular Season Champions, Southern Oregon earned the CCC’s first Automatic Qualifier (AQ) and will therefore advance to the NAIA National Tournament.
With the second AQ, the 2023 CCC Men’s Soccer Tournament Champions of College of Idaho will be joining them as well. The teams will find out their opponents when the NAIA announces official qualifiers on Monday (NAIA YouTube Channel), with the first and second round set to begin later next week.