EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University men's soccer team had a penalty kick blocked in overtime and Evergreen scored in the second, avoiding their first loss of the season with a 1-0 victory.
 
With the win, the Geoducks (9-0-4, 8-0-4 CCC) remain in a four-way tie for first place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference with one game remaining. NCU's loss keeps them in tenth place (8-7-2, 4-6-2 CCC), .041 percentage points behind Oregon Tech and Eastern Oregon for eighth place. The Beacons hopes of making the post season remain alive as a win on Saturday and losses for both OIT and EOU would sneak Benny Flores' squad into the final slot.
 
An intense battled played out over 90 scoreless minutes of regulation. Each team collected 11 shots attempts in the first two halves and combined for ten shots-on goal.
 
The Beacon owned the first overtime. In the 93rd minute, Angel Sandoval ripped a shot in the box that was saved by a Geoduck defender at the line. During the ensuing scrum for the ball an Evergreen player fouled a Beacon in the box and was handed a yellow card. The Beacons were awarded a penalty kick and were on the verge of an epic victory but Evergreen's Ben Stevenson guessed correctly, dove to his right and blocked the attempt.
 
NCU went on to secure two corner kicks and one more shot-on-goal in the period, but never found the nylon.
 
The second overtime was significantly shorter on action, but the Geoducks capitalized on their first legitimate scoring opportunity. A breakaway led to a shot attempt by Miguel Viramontes which NCU keeper Yayo Olvera made a play on. The ball careemed away to Kevin Elliot-McCrea who fired home the winning strike.
 
Stevenson ended his night with nine saves, pulling out a 105-minute shutout. Olvera registered seven saves for the Beacons.
 
Evergreen, currently receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll, will be back in action on Saturday, traveling to face No. 15 Corban University (10-2), one of the three other teams currently tied for the CCC lead. Should a winner emerge from that contest, the victor will claim at least a share of the conference title. The other pair of leaders is also facing off on Saturday when No. 21 Rocky Mountain (9-1-2) travels to face Southern Oregon University (9-1-2).
 
The Beacons need a victory tomorrow evening when they play host to Northwest University (10-6, 6-6) at 5 p.m. NCU will also be keeping an eye on Oregon Tech, hosting College of Idaho, and Eastern Oregon, hosting Warner Pacific.