HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The John Brown University men's soccer squad survived a pair of early punches and a wave of second-half pressure, then converted four straight penalties to outlast No. 11 William Carey (Miss.) in penalties after a 2-2 draw in the Second Round of the NAIA National Championships on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 22) at Danny Owens Field.
The Golden Eagles (12-4-5) advance to the Round of 16 for the first time in program history and marks the program's second postseason advancement via penalties all time after edging Southeastern (Fla.) in the 2019 Opening Rounds. The Blue and Gold entered the afternoon 1-5-0 against the Crusaders in the all-time series and were in search of its first victory in the national tournament since 1993.
After four goals in the first 24 minutes of action, the sides buckled down and went scoreless for the next 86 minutes of play, forcing penalties to decide advancement.
In penalties, John Brown converted all four of its attempts. Sophomore Alejandro Gallardo opened the scoring, and senior Atim Roper gave the Golden Eagles a 2-1 advantage in the second round after Carey's second shooter hit the post. Junior Gabriel Cabrera pushed JBU ahead 3-1, and after the Crusaders pulled back within 3-2, senior Steven Cisneros delivered in the fourth round to close the shootout.
On Carey's final shooter, Rico Dugan, Tebbs dove to his left and handed in the deciding stop to secure the advancement, denying Dugan from the spot for the second time on the night.
William Carey (14-4-3), seeded 10th in the national tournament, opened the match in control and struck first just 2:06 into the contest. The visitors found an answer just three minutes later, however, when the Golden Eagles used senior Ahmed Abess' second goal of the season to level the match for the first time.
Junior Gabriel Cabrera's corner service found Cisneros at the back post, who headed a perfect ball into the mixer, allowing Ahbess to one-touch a shot from six yards.
WCU reclaimed the lead in the 14th minute, but the Blue and Gold again had the answer. Sophomore Marcos Miranda tied the match at 2-2 in the 23rd minute, ripping a long-range shot to the bottom left corner of goal and slotting home his fifth goal of the season. Junior Andres Pereira dispossessed a Crusader at midfield and bolted upfield before laying off to Miranda for the strike.
Both sides traded fouls and half-chances the rest of the period, and JBU defended two late looks to maintain the deadlock at halftime.
The final 45 minutes of full time belonged largely to William Carey, which posted a 15-5 shot margin after the break, including seven shots on goal.
The Golden Eagles produced two of the match's biggest turning points in a three-minute span when the back line cleared a Felix Rocca attempt off the goal line. Just two minutes later in the 76th minute, the hosts were awarded a penalty shot, but Duggan's attempt was denied at the post by senior Adam Tebbs, preserving the tie and rebuilding momentum for the visitors.
Tebbs (7-4-4) matched a season-high with six saves, including a crucial pair in the final 15 minutes of regulation. JBU generated its lone second-half shot on frame in the 89th minute, but Carey's late efforts sailed high or were handled cleanly by the Golden Eagle back line as the sides moved to extra time.
Neither side found a breakthrough in 20 minutes of extra time. WCU produced three shots in the second overtime period, but the visitors blocked all three attempts, including a Daniel Mulero chance in the 107th minute.
The Golden Eagles finished the match at a 22-12 shot disadvantage but placed seven of its dozen efforts on target.
The Blue and Gold move to 1-6-3 all time in seven national tournament appearances and advance in tournament play for just the fourth time in program history.
John Brown moves on to face No. 2-ranked and No. 7-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in the Round of 16 at the Orange Beach Sports Complex in Orange Beach, Ala., on Dec. 4. The teams met in August at Alumni Field, a 1-0 Pioneers win in the season opener.
