Cougars celebrate 4-3 win over Trinity Christian College SXU Athletics Website
Despite a thrilling win in the opening round of the CCAC tournament the Cougars fell short in the semifinals as their season is now on life support as they wait for a potential bid in the NAIA tournament.
Game 1: (W) SXU: 4, TCC: 3
On Wednesday Nov. 5 in the opening round of the CCAC playoffs the Cougars looked to finally get past the quarterfinals after six straight years of losing in the opening round as they hosted the No. 6 Trinity Christian College Trolls in a thrilling overtime win to start their 2025 playoff run.
Things looked scary early on for the Cougars. as the Trolls took a 2-0 lead due to a goal in the first three minutes of playing time followed by a second goal in minute 17 putting pressure on the SXU offense to find a quick response before things got out of hand and the deficit would become too much to overcome.
Luckily they found an answer in the 28th minute thanks to midfielder redshirt sophomore Saul Lagunas who scored his first goal of the season and cut the deficit to one. As the first half neared its end the Cougars tied the game after a goal from junior midfielder Mark Vitaly Hul and an assist by Jaedan Aguilera to set up an exciting second half.
In a crucial second half both defenses held their ground through the first 25 minutes of the half until the Trolls would take a 3-2 lead in minute 77 but it would not last long as the Cougars responded with a goal from defender Jessie Cardiel just two minutes later to level things up once again.
90 minutes would not be enough as the game headed into overtime after a 3-3 tie. Meaning whoever scored the next goal will be moving on to the semifinals and one step closer to the championship.
Both teams started off very aggressive as their seasons were coming down to the wire but neither team had an answer throughout the first overtime.
The game winning goal would finally come through in minute 106 thanks to the heroics of midfielder Omar Aparicio who would send the Cougars to the semifinals and finally end their six game losing streak in the playoffs.
Game 2: (L) SXU:1, VU:2
On Saturday, Nov. 8, the Cougars headed to La Crosse, Wis. to take on No. 2 Viterbo University where they would play yet another double overtime game but unfortunately things would not end the same way they did last time.
In the first half both teams had their fair share of chances to put their team ahead but none were able to cash in their opportunities which led to a scoreless tie heading into the second half.
The Cougars would strike first in minute 63 after a goal from Jaeden Aguilera but their excitement would end fairly quickly after Viterbo would find the equalizer just ten seconds later. A 1-1 tie through 90 minutes would send this game to overtime setting up yet another intense finish for the Cougars.
The first overtime was rather quiet for the Cougars as they attempted zero shots on goal compared to the three shots that Viterbo took.
As the game headed to its second overtime the Cougars chances at a NAIA playoff run plummeted as Viterbo scored just 4 minutes into the overtime advancing them to the CCAC championship game.
With this loss in the semifinals the Cougars are going to have to hope for a miracle for a chance in the NAIA tournament when the selection show takes place on Friday, Nov. 14 at 5pm before the tournament begins on Thursday Nov. 20.