Men's Soccer Edges Southwestern In Thrilling PK Shootout on Saturday to Advance to SCAC Championship Match

Shreveport- The No. 6 seed Centenary men's soccer team went the distance and more on Saturday afternoon as the Gents earned a berth in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship Match for the first time in program history, advancing 5-3 on penalty kicks in a thrilling shootout following a double overtime scoreless tie against the No. 2 seed Southwestern Pirates at a spirited Mayo Field.

The Gents (4-5-2) will meet No. 5 seed St. Thomas (6-2-3) in Sunday's championship match scheduled for 1 p.m. The Celts upset No. 1 seed Trinity in Saturday's first semifinal match, 2-1. Southwestern finishes its season at 4-0-4. Centenary will be making its first championship game appearance in program history and becomes the first No. 6 seed in SCAC history to make the final. Centenary and St. Thomas will meet for the second time this season after the Celts claimed a 1-0 win on March 20 in Houston. 

Live stats and live video are available for Sunday's championship match at the links below: 

Stats: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/msoc/2020-21/boxscores/20210425_414q.xml

Video: https://collegetvticket.com/portal/centenary

The teams battled to a scoreless tie after 90 minutes in regulation and a pair of 10 minute overtime periods to reach the final dramatic sequence. Both the Gents and Pirates, though, had several good scoring chances throughout the match. The Gents wound up with a 20-18 edge in shots and the Pirates had eight shots on goal to three for the Maroon and White. Centenary took five corner kicks and the Pirates took a pair. 

In the shootout, Centenary sophomore MF Jaron Petreas (Denton, Texas) went first and was denied by Southwestern GK Jackson Krueger, who had just entered the match after his teammate Jack Viles had started and played all 110 minutes, making three saves. Southwestern then took its turn looking to go up one but Centenary junior GK Sami Borchalli (Lafayette, La.) blocked Jackson DeHaven's attempt. Gents freshman D Rene Escobar (Cypress, Texas) found the net on Centenary's next turn to make it a 1-0 advantage. Borchalli then came up clutch again as he denied Pirates' F Skyler Frey and then senior MF Greg Petreas (Denton, Texas) calmly guided a shot into the back of the net past Krueger for a 2-0 Centenary advantage. Southwestern F Mofe Ariyo cut the Gents' advantage to 2-1 as he snuck the ball into the left corner past Borchalli, who had guessed correctly but was just a bit behind the kick.

Sophomore David Barbera (Gonzales, La.) stepped up next and converted his attempt to give the Gents a 3-1 advantage. Southwestern's moment of reckoning then arrived as the Pirates had to convert their next attempt or the match was over. Southwestern called on of its own goalkeepers, freshman Brendan Prather, to come through with a score and extend the match. With a large contingent of Centenary student-athletes and family and close friends of the Gents roaring in anticipation and nervousness on the near sideline, Borchalli punched Prather's last-gasp attempt high in the air and above the net to clinch the exhilirating win and set off a wild celebration near the home bench.

Borchalli played one of his best games of the season as he made eight critical saves including three in the two overtime periods. He made a clutch save on a free kick by Frey late in the second overtime period in what was one of the Pirates' final scoring chances. Southwestern GK Jack Viles played all 110 minutes of regulation and the two overtime periods and made three saves. Jaron Petreas led the Gents with seven shot attempts while sophomore MF Andres Bautista took five. Sophomore D Quentin Helm (Denton, Texas) played superb defense and also took two shots, both on goal. Frey's seven shot attempts led the Pirates and Ariyo took three. 

Saturday's heartstopper came just one day after the Gents won their first SCAC Tournament game in program history with a 2-1 win over No. 3 seed Colorado College in the quarterfinals. Centenary fell 1-0 to Southwestern in the 2012 edition of the championship in San Antonio, Texas in its only other appearance prior to Friday. The Gents have defended their home turf and recorded their two most significant wins in the division III era (2012-present) on consecutive days. Centenary is now 4-1-2 at Mayo Field this season and is an impressive 11-4-2 in its last 17 home matches.

Links and additional information is also available via the official championship site here: Official Championships Website | Bracket | 

The league has also updated its fan policy for all upcoming championship events. Please click here for additional information.

A link to the Gents' complete schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/msoc/2020-21/schedule.

Live stats and live video are available for all home matches.

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