California Baptist University
9-5-5, 5-1-2
(RV) USD
11-4-4, 5-1-1
CBU Outduals USD 1-1, 3-2 PKs, To Advance to NCAA Second Round at #1 Marshall
11/17/2023 12:33:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SAN DIEGO - History continues to be written for California Baptist men's soccer during this magical 2023 season. Thursday night presented another opportunity to find magic, and that's exactly what the Lancers did, defeating San Diego 1-1, 3-2 on penalty kicks, to earn a spot in the Round of 16 in the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. Luis Mueller's left foot kept CBU level with the Toreros, while Nolan Premack's instincts and confidence led the Lancers further than ever before.
"San Diego is an excellent team, champions of one of the top conferences in the country this year," said Head Coach Coe Michaelson after the historic victory. "I thought we had the better of the first half and OT, but they were a bit better in the second half. I'm extremely proud of the group. They grinded for this."
USD scored early when a Torero broke free in the box, driving through the left side of the box and put one into the net in the 16th minute.
The Lancers wasted little time finding an equalizer. Just five minutes later, Charalampous played a ball to a waiting Georg Bjarnason, who launched a long ball to a sprinting Luis Mueller, who collected it, took a few steps to square up, and nearly put a hole in the net with his 12th goal of the season.
"Big players come through in big moments. Luis had a special moment and Nolan was incredible in the shootout," added Michaelson about his stars on Thursday night. Chances were few and far between for the remainder of regulation except for a few solid strikes, including one incredible Nolan Premack save late in the second half.
👐
Nolan keeps it level late!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/KPuaTFTUgW— California Baptist Men's Soccer (@CBUmsoccer) November 17, 2023
The two 10-minute overtime periods were cautiously played. They served more to build tension in anticipation for the forthcoming penalty shootout, after a brief intermission and a coin toss to determine the side of the field on which the shootout would happen and the order of the back-and-forth.
It was determined that USD would shoot first and advantageously, on the side of the stadium that was CBU fan-strong.
It played out as if it were a year ago, almost to the day, November 13, 2022, when Premack came up so big against San Jose State in the WAC Championship game when he blocked SJSU's initial PK. Tonight, he outdid himself, stopping USD's first, second, and fifth penalty attempts.
Antonio Gomez, Anthony Vargas, and Alexander Hasenohrl all buried their opportunities to advance the Lancers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
The road doesn't get any easier from here as the Lancers now travel to Huntington, West Virginia, to take on the top seed in the tournament, #1 Marshall University. The Thundering Herd finished the season as the nation's top-ranked team with a 17-2 record while going 7-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. Marshall won both the regular season title and the Sun Belt Tournament, defeating #5 West Virginia in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory.
Michaelson praised th CBU community and administration as well, adding, "This is obviously a special victory for our athletics department. We are excited to be the first to do it, but it's representative of a school that is committed to athletics, from the top down. We have nothing to lose on Sunday, and we are excited for the experience and opportunity." Sunday's game will be played at 1:00 p.m. local time, 10:00 a.m. Pacific, and streamed live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Cesar Bahena (6)
Assisted By: Mason Tunbridge , Simon Duus Muller
Long pass by 3 flicked on via header by 10; 11 dribbles 20 yards through defensive challenge into penalty box and puts right-footed shot low into center from 7 yards
15:41
Luis Mueller (12)
Assisted By: Stavros Charalampous , Georg Bjarnason
Square pass by 5 to right in own half; cross-field 30-yard long ball from right to left from 25; settling touch and left-footed shot from 17 yards on left diagonal into upper left
20:08
