Box Score KISSIMMEE, Fla. – With the No. 1 seed in the NCCAA semifinal, the Tigers met a defensive minded Grace College, falling, 1-0.
Coming off of his 200th win, Coach Preston and the Tigers looked to make it 201 to extend their season one more day for a national title game.
To start their match with Grace, it looked as though the Tigers would control much of the game, with four shots in the first 1:30 of play.
However, for the next 43 minutes, the Lancers had control. Grace, playing with patience, forced CU into mistakes that led to numerous goal scoring opportunities.
It was in the 24
th minute when the Lancers', Ivan Santagioliana gathered a pass from Togo Narusawa and forced the ball into far corner past a creeping,
Owen Stott.
Nonetheless, as Grace was much in control, the Tiger defense showed their prowess, limiting Grace's lead to one entering halftime.
Out of the break, CU flipped a switch, putting continuous pressure on the Lancer defense. After only nine first half shots, Campbellsville came back out in the second half to outshoot Grace, 19-4.
In numerous tries, inches separated the Tigers from notching the equalizer. Campbellsville was continually gathering clean looks, but the Lancer defense played their cards effectively and managed to block shot attempts time and time again.
One of the Tigers best opportunities came in the 63
rd minute. As Azad Iliozer took a corner for the Tigers, the Lancers deflected a ball to come bouncing out to
Sergio Bachiller. As the ball bounced waste high, Bachiller fired a missile that looked to beat the keeper but found the post instead.
Looking to make a strong push in the final 10 minutes of play,
Pedro Ramos set up for an 80
th minute corner.
Tom Edge was able to get the first touch on the corner, but his shot was blocked. However,
Marc Lawrence gathered the rebound to fire another shot. The Lancer defense blocked the attempt again. This time
Kalvin Semedo recovered the ball, only for Grace to block the Tigers' third consecutive attempt.
Less than two minutes later, Edge had another opportunity. Gathering the ball 25 yards out, he found a gap, placing what looked to be a beautiful equalizer, but this attempt found the post as well.
Campbellsville continued the pressure with five shots and three corners in the final seven minutes of action, but none could find the back of the net.
The Tigers allowed one goal in the tournament, but that proved to be enough to end their title run.
After a stellar performance in the pool play matches, the NCCAA named Azad Iliozer to the All- Tournament team.
This closes the Tigers' 2019 campaign with a 14-6-1 record highlighted by an NAIA Opening Round bid and reaching the NCCAA National Semifinals.
