Top Seeds Prevail in 2025 CAC Men’s Soccer Championship Semifinal
The top two seeds won highly spirited and competitive semifinal matches at the Continental Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship Tournament on Sunday at Georgia Gwinnett College's Grizzly Soccer Complex.
Tournament host and top seed GGC rallied past No. 4 seed Carolina University (North Carolina) 2-1 and No. 2 seed Bellevue University (Nebraska) won a dramatic penalty kick shootout 5-4 over No. 3 seed Florida National University, after the two teams battled to a scoreless draw over 110 minutes of action.
Georgia Gwinnett and Bellevue will square off in the title match on Tuesday, November 11, starting at 7 p.m.
Here are recaps from Sunday's semifinal matches:
Match 3: Georgia Gwinnett College 2, Carolina University 1
A pair of second half goals propelled No. 1 seed Georgia Gwinnett College past No. 4 seed Carolina University (North Carolina) 2-1 in the first semifinal match on Sunday evening.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Grizzlies (11-2-3) tied the match in the 55th minute when Ousmane Fall found the back of the net after a crossing pass from Michael Mallaburn.
Fall, recipient of the 2025 CAC Player and Newcomer of the Year awards, scored his team-leading 15th goal of the season.
The tournament host took the lead when Alejandro Contrera scored from the top of the 18-yard box during the 73rd minute. Contrera was the 2024 CAC Player of the Year.
Carolina (8-5-3) struck first in the 16th minute on an unassisted goal from Will McCamley.
The Grizzlies outshot Carolina by a 9-2 margin in the first half, with the aid of a steady 15-20 miles per hour wind. However, the team turned the tables by scoring both goals while playing into the breeze.
GGC outshot Carolina by a 13-7 margin, with 10 shots being on goal. Goalkeeper Victor Darub made two saves in the match, both coming in the second half. The hosts also recorded eight corner kicks in Sunday's match.
Carolina's McCamley attempted three of the team's seven shots in the match. The team's goalkeeper, Joshua Wilson, recorded eight saves.
Match 4: Bellevue University 0, Florida National University 0 (Bellevue advances 5-4 in penalty kick shootout)
The second semifinal match between No. 2 seed Bellevue University (Nebraska) and No. 3 seed Florida National University lived up to its pre-match hype and billing.
The No. 2 seed Bruins edged Florida National 5-4 in an extended penalty kick shootout, after the two squads battled to a scoreless draw for 110 minutes.
Florida National (11-3-4) controlled the play early, outshooting Bellevue (10-7-2) by a 6-1 margin during the first half. However, the Bruins rallied in the second half to register eight shots and 12 corner kicks in the second half.
Overall, Bellevue outshot Florida National by a 12-10 margin. The Bruins had a goal negated due to an offsides violation during the second half. A shot by Joshua Harvey struck the right post following a corner kick at 77-minute mark.
During the first overtime period, Buster Honeywood hit the crossbar with a free kick in the 92nd minute.
In the penalty kick shootout, both teams were successful on their first three attempts. Bellevue's Andres Valencia hit the crossbar during the fourth round and Florida National's Diego Zogby followed with an attempt that went wide of the goal.
Bellevue's Buster Honeywood drilled a successful try to start the fifth round only to have FNU's David Luque provide an answering goal that continued the shootout. Jeremiah Hteh converted his attempt, while Bellevue goalkeeper Kaden Simpson made a leaping save toward the upper left corner of the goal to give the Bruins the dramatic victory. Simpson made eight saves during the contest.
Meanwhile, Florida National goalkeeper Vitor Caetano had four saves. Filipe Ribeiro and Luque each attempted three shots for the Conquistadors.