Bethel soccer advances to Region XII Championship with shootout victory
MAYFIELD Ky. For the second season in a row, the Bethel College men's soccer team will play for the NAIA Region XII Championship after winning a thrilling game over King College (Tenn.) in the semi-finals of the 2005 tournament being played at Mid-Continent University (Ky.) in Mayfield, Ky. Bethel beat King 5-4 in a shootout to advance to Saturday's final.
The match-up pitted the #2 seed King College Tornadoes and the #3 Bethel College Wildcats. On paper, it appeared that both teams were very equally matched, and they proved on the field. The two teams played 110 minutes of scoreless action forcing the shootout.
In the shootout, Bethel's Sean Fraser (SO / Wheatley Hill, England) got BC off to a good start hitting on the first PK. King's Thomas Mitchell missed on his attempt wide right. However, BC's Michael Robertson (SO / Huddersfield, England) couldn't make good on his attempt as King keeper Brian Crunk anticipated Robertson's shot. KC's Brett Hullander knotted the score at 1-1 with his attempt. The team's both made their next three attempts. Bethel's Tom Malton gave BC a 5-4 lead when he shot his ball past Crunk. Bethel keeper Andrew Pennycook (SO / Falkirk, Scotland) came up with the save of his career off a shot from Erin Brayshaw, giving Bethel the exciting 5-4.
For the game, King (15-5-2) out shot Bethel 18-14, with Bethel holding an 8-6 advantage on Shots on Goal. Bethel goalkeeper Andrew Pennycook picked up six saves, while Brian Crunk of King collected eight saves.
Bethel (11-8-1) returns to the NAIA Region XII Championship. Last season, Bethel won their first title over host Mid-Continent University. Bethel will vie for a return trip to the NAIA men's soccer national tournament on Saturday when they square off against Virginia Intermont College. VIC defeated #1 Mid-Continent 1-0 in overtime in the earlier semi-final contest. Saturday's championship is slated to kick-off at 1:00 pm at Mid-Continent in Mayfield, KY.