December 7, 2023 | SPORTS | By Charley Sutherland
For the first time in 30 years, Colorado College Men’s Soccer took the field at the NCAA Division III quarterfinals.
The Tigers went the full 90 minutes without giving away a goal to the Generals of Washington and Lee University, but could also not score themselves. After 20 more minutes of overtime, the score remained 0-0. In penalty kicks, the Generals converted five attempts, to CC’s four, and beat the Tigers to advance to the semifinal round.
On their way to the Elite Eight, Men’s Soccer beat Oglethorpe University 3-2, eliminated Emory University in penalty kicks, and advanced past Ohio Northern University 1-0 in overtime.
When asked about CC’s tournament performance, Team Captain Alexander Ward ’24 said, “When the NCAA bracket came out and we knew we had Oglethorpe and then Emory, we knew those were going to be tough games.”
It was CC’s first appearance in the tournament since 2019. However, playing tougher games is exactly where the team wanted to be at the season’s onset, according to Ward.
“To be able to win both those games, to be able to take down Emory, who were the [number] nine team in the nation at that point, was amazing. It was fantastic to get the program back to where we should be at the top of NCAA Division III,” Ward said.
Understanding that the average rostered player for the CC’s team is a Block 1 sophomore, it’s obvious their youth was not an issue during the regular season.
For Ward, the youth means a promising future for the program. Men’s Soccer now expects to compete and excel in the NCAA tournament next season, in addition to their year-in-year-out goal of winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title.
The loss to Washington and Lee, which ended the Tigers’ season, was disappointing, according to Ward. CC was just two wins away from competing for the national championship. Those emotions of frustration existed simultaneously alongside a sense of accomplishment in making it further in the tournament than any Men’s Varsity Soccer team had any time recently.
“It was a bit bittersweet, I have to say. Of course, I’m so proud of this team for what we accomplished this year, and yet I couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed … that we didn’t go further because I think we were capable of that,” Ward said.
According to Ward, a strong sense of togetherness made this group unique, and especially strong down the stretch.
“It was a full team effort,” Ward said.
No one specific player individually propelled the Tigers to their historic tournament run, according to Ward. In any given game, any player on the Men’s Soccer team could make big plays to improve the Tigers’ chances. That’s what made CC’s culture strong – a strong sense of togetherness.
CC finished their season with a 15-3-3 record and finished atop the conference in the regular season, going 8-0 against in-conference opponents. University of St. Thomas defeated CC in the semifinal round of the end-of-season conference tournament, but the Tigers received an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.
As of today, CC Men’s Soccer ranked as high as the 16th best Division III team in the nation.
Curtis Hale ’25 was selected to the United Soccer Coaches all-region first team. Will Bavier ’25 was selected to the second team and Oliver Ramirez ’26 earned a third-team selection.
1 Comment