Florida National, Talladega Open 2024 CAC Men’s Soccer Championship with First-Round Victories
Florida National University and Talladega College have advanced to the semifinal round of the 2024 Continental Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championships after scoring victories in Saturday evening's first-round tournament action, being hosted at Georgia Gwinnett College's Grizzly Soccer Complex.
Florida National, the No. 6 seed, picked up a 3-0 upset victory against No. 3 seed Carolina University (North Carolina) to open first-round play. Then, No. 4 seed Talladega College (Alabama) advanced following a 5-4 score in a penalty kick shootout against No. 5 seed Washington Adventist University (Maryland) – after the teams battled to a 1-1 draw across two halves and two overtime sessions.
Belleuve University (Nebraska), the tournament's top seed, will play Talladega in the semifinal round on Monday, November 11, at 11 a.m. Then, No. 2 seed GGC battles Florida National at 2 p.m.
Here are recaps of Saturday's first-round matches:
Match 1: No. 6 Florida National University 3, No. 3 Carolina University 0
No. 6 seed Florida National University scored twice in the first half and added another tally in the second half to defeat No. 3 seed Carolina University (North Carolina) 3-0.
Filipe Sette Ribeiro found the back of the net in the seventh minute after recovering a rebound from an initial shot by Nicolas Martinez.
The Conquistadors stretched the lead to 2-0 in the 26th minute after a corner kick resulted in a scramble in front of the Carolina goal. Marcos Bakale ended up with the ball and netted his fourth goal of the season.
Jose Luis Hurtado scored an unassisted goal in the 60th minute to seal the first-round triumph.
The Bruins registered seven of their 10 shots during the second half as they sought to make a comeback in their NAIA postseason debut.
FNU's Bakale and Setter Ribeiro each paced the team with two shot attempts on Saturday.
Carolina was led by Karell Buitendijk, Jordan Julien and Luigi Piccoli each tallying two shots.
Match 2: No. 4 Talladega College 1, No. 5 Washington Adventist University 1 (Talladega advances 5-4 in penalty kicks)
Talladega College successfully made all five of its penalty kicks during a shootout that decided the first-round match against Washington Adventist University (Maryland) by a 5-4 margin, after battling to a 1-1 draw in regulation time and two overtime sessions.
The No. 4-seeded Tornadoes answered the Shock, the tournament's No. 5 seed, with a goal in the 27th minute as Jose Attong buried a shot from the right side of the pitch. Attong received a pass from Tyrike Andrews in a scoring chance that was initially created by Saeed Charles.
Rodrigo Torgal scored on a one-timer in the 14th minute following a WAU counterattack after Marcos Hernandez Molina dribbled inside the 18-yard box. The play was set up by receiving the ball near midfield.
The two teams battled the rest of the way, searching for an elusive second goal.
Talladega registered 11 of its 21 shots in the second half and attempted the only four shots made during the two 10-minute overtime periods. The Tornadoes nearly won the match 15 seconds into overtime as Malachia Daniel's breakaway was denied by WAU goalkeeper Gregorio Capponi. The Shock's goalkeeper made 11 saves in Saturday's match.
In the penalty kick shootout, both teams converted on their first two attempts. Washington Adventist, shooting first in each round, was unsuccessful in the third attempt as Diogo Patrao struck the crossbar. Talladega's Charles, Daniel and Jevaughn Smith followed by making their shootout opportunities to seal the victory.