Tulsa
Kentucky - C-USA Final
Tulsa Wins Conference USA Men's Soccer Championship in Shootout
11/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 16, 2008
Box Score
Dallas, Texas - For the first time since 2003 the Conference USA Men's Soccer Championship match went to penalty kicks as Kentucky (12-4-5) and Tulsa (15-3-3) remained tied at 1-1 after 110 minutes, but the Golden Hurricane outscored the Wildcats, 4-2, in the shootout to claim their second consecutive C-USA Men's Soccer title. TU is the first team since Saint Louis in 2000-03 to notch back-to-back titles.
"I thought the guys fought hard," Head Coach Tom McIntosh said. "Kentucky obviously fought very hard and it was a heck of a game, the way it should be. We were probably two of the hottest teams in the country coming in here, and we knew it was going to be tight. We are just happy to get the win. Tyrel did a great job getting set and reading the penalty kicks. He made two brilliant saves and I couldn't be happier for him. No we just wait to find out where we are going."
In the penalty kicks, Tulsa struck first with the first two goals, going up 2-0. Diego Henriquez netted Tulsa's first penalty, beating UK keeper Dan Williams in the right corner. UK then turned to its co-captain Jason Griffiths - who entered the game 6-for-6 in his career and 4-of-4 in 2008 in penalty kick goals. Griffiths tried to go left but Tyrel Lacey, the first-team All-Conference USA keeper, made a tremendous diving save.
C-USA Offensive Player of the Year Ashley McInnes gave Tulsa a 2-0 lead, beating Williams left. Dos Santos took UK's second penalty for UK, going right, but Lacey again made a diving save. Tulsa's Chris Taylor was next, and his shot missed left. The Wildcats turned to Jirijoonas Kanth, who had played in just four games in 2008 and not in the conference tournament, to keep its hopes alive. Kanth, came up large, ripping a powerful shot that Lacey got a hand on, but it trickled into the net to make it, 2-1, Tulsa.
Eric DeFreitas came next for Tulsa and his shot was good to the left, making it 3-1 Tulsa. C.J. Tappel was next for the Wildcats, and Tappel fired a hard-hit shot into the right corner to make it 3-2 and keep UK's hopes alive. With the conference tournament title resting on the next penalty, Justin Chavez fired the winner into the left corner, giving Tulsa the league title.
"We stepped up there in the PKs and we were confident we would win," Lacey said. "We are excited to be moving on and we have been working hard all year long for this. We have a heck of a streak going and we need this momentum. It was man-versus-man at the end. I had to make those saves at the end for my team since they had worked so hard the entire game."
The match got off to a quick start in the sixth minute when both teams scored within 43 seconds of each other, giving the impression that the game would be a shootout. Tulsa got on the board first when Jose Parada scored a beautiful goal off of a pass from Jeovahnni Sandez. Parada was open from about 35 yards out at an angle and lofted a bending shot that sailed around the UK defense and past a diving Williams, netting the ball in the far post. The goal was Parada's sixth of the season, while the assist was the fifth for Sandez.
Seconds later, Kentucky was on the attack and evened the score. C-USA Newcomer of the Year Marco dos Santos found himself with an open net on the far edge of the six-yard box and he slipped in a goal that found the far corner of the net, past the rush of the Tulsa defense. The goal marked dos Santos' fifth of the year, second-best on the team.
The team's defenses secured the game for the remainder of the day, not allowing a goal in the final 104 minutes. Tulsa controlled the statistical advantage, posting an 18-11 shot margin and a 4-2 corner-kick advantage.
The tie extended both team's school-record unbeaten streaks. Tulsa has now not lost in 15 games, while the Wildcats have not been downed in 10 games. The title game appearance was the third in four seasons as a member of C-USA for Tulsa and the second in three years for UK.
With the win, Tulsa claims the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.
For their efforts, Eric DeFreitas, Austin Neil, Ashley McInnes and Joe Salem were named the C-USA All-Tournament Team.
Scoring Summary Tulsa 1 0 0 Kentucky 1 0 0Individual Scoring Jose Parada (Tulsa) at 5:14 (Jeovahnni Sandez) Marco dos Santos (Kentucky) at 5:57 (unassisted)
Goalkeeper Saves Tyrel Lacey (Tulsa) - 2 Dan Williams (Kentucky) - 3
All-Tournament Team Eric DeFreitas, Tulsa
 Austin Neil, Tulsa
 Ashley McInnes, Tulsa
 Joe Salem, Tulsa
 Dan Williams, Kentucky
 Tim Crone, Kentucky
 Jason Griffiths, Kentucky
 Yaron Bacher, UCF
 Kevan George, UCF
 Blake Brettschneider, South Carolina
 Jimmy Maurer, South Carolina
