OLATHE, Kan. -- Soccer is a cruel and painful and sometimes unlucky game, and if you need further proof, look into the eyes of Azusa Pacific.
Four months, 21 games and nearly 2,000 minutes of soccer all came down to 10 penalty kicks--5 for each side.
The NAIA's No. 3-ranked and ninth-seed Cougars played evenly with No. 2 and top seed Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) for 120 minutes only to fall in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of the 2004 NAIA Men's Soccer Tournament in Olathe, Kan.
The Cougars scored midway through the first half then surrendered a late penalty kick and played through an extra 20 minutes of overtime to a 1-1 tie. Then in PKs, the Blue Raiders outscored the Cougars 4-3 to get the win and advance to Monday's semifinals.
Although the Blue Raiders get the win, the result goes into the books as a tie, and the Cougars end their season at 17-1-3. Lindsey Wilson moves to 21-1-2.
"The boys fought like crazy today," said Azusa Pacific head coach Phil Wolf. "Obviously it's a tough way to go out, but at the same time, you can't hang your head about it. We battled evenly with the best soccer program in the NAIA."
In the Cougars' second NAIA Tournament appearance in school history; they made their first-ever quarterfinal appearance, while Lindsey Wilson moves one step closer to their seventh NAIA title since 1995.
The Cougars played about as perfectly as they could have for all 120 minutes frustrating the Blue Raiders, who scored 98 goals this year, including 9 games with at least 5. And when the Cougars took one of their 5 first-half corner kicks in the 17th minute, they struck gold.
Brandon Stirm took the kick and sent a perfect arching ball into the box. Ian Leibbrandt rose above the defense and headed home his 13th goal of the season into the middle of the net.
As the next 54 minutes ticked off, victory appeared to be more and more of a reality as the Cougar defensive effort spearheaded by Tony Rotunno, Phil Hoyt and Skelly Kellar rose to the occasion.
"We played at a very high level, battled and fought," said Wolf. "We passed the ball well, defended, took chances, and did just about everything we needed to do to get the result we wanted. It's definitely one of our top 3 performances of the season."
But in the 71st minute, Lindsey Wilson's Brian Ombiji drew a penalty kick when he was taken down just inside the right side of the box. Eduardo Cinel, who entered the game just minutes earlier, converted the PK, scooting the ball just past Cougar GK Morgan Cathey and inside the near post to knot the game at 1-1.
The Blue Raiders out shot the Cougars, 15-7, including a 6-4 mark on target and a 4-1 mark in overtime.
Neither team had a quality chance after the PK and into the overtime period thus forcing the penalty kicks. In the PKs, the Cougars converted their first 3 attempts by Leibbrandt, David Casarotte and Andriy Budnyy while the Blue Raiders converted their first before Julian Cottrell made a save to give the Cougars a 3-1 lead.
However, Lindsey Wilson made their third attempt to get within 3-2, but the Cougars missed their final 2 attempts while the Blue Raiders converted to get the win and eliminate the Cougars.
Azusa Pacific concludes its season at 17-1-3 with its fifth GSAC title and first since 2001. The Cougars made their second-ever NAIA Tournament appearance and first since 1996 and picked up their first NAIA Tournament win ever with yesterday's 4-2 win over Mobile (Ala.). Five Cougars—Leibbrandt, Budnyy, Hoyt, Skellar and Brandon Stirm earned All-GSAC honors and every Cougar that played this season returns next year.
"I'm proud of these guys," said Wolf. "They have nothing to be disappointed in. Their effort today was superb. It's been an honor to coach them. Hopefully this will light a fire under them so we can get back here next year."
