BILLINGS, Mont. – Playing in snow and 20-degree temperatures, after 20 hours of bus travel through brutal weather conditions, the Bushnell men's soccer team pulled out a historic victory on Friday afternoon, defeating Rocky Mountain College for the first time, 4-3.
 
Bushnell (5-8-3, 1-8-2 CCC) grabbed their first win since September 2, and defeated the Bears for the first time ever, after eight previous meetings. The Beacons had never scored more than one goal in a game against RMC (4-9-3, 2-9-1).
 
Head Coach Joao Ehlers said, "I am very proud of our mentality and collective performance today. We defended well and we were also very creative up front to find open spaces and score goals in crucial moments of the match."
 
Bushnell struck first when Javier Gutierrez took a short cross in the box from Omar Barajas (pictured) and punished the back of the net with a ten-yard strike just 15 minutes into the game for his fourth goal of the season.
 
Just two minutes later, Barajas assisted on another goal on a breakaway, threading a perfect pass between two defenders to the waiting foot of Francisco Cayolla, who drilled a shot across the box from 15-yards out into the upper right corner of the net. It was his fourth goal this season.  
 
The Bears got on the board in the 21st minute, but Bushnell gave themselves a little distance before halftime. With snow beginning to fall, Cayolla took a shot that ricocheted off the keeper toward Barajas, who punched home his third goal of the year and celebrated with a snow-angel as the Beacons took a 3-1 edge into the intermission.
 
The pace hardly slowed in the second half with Rocky climbing back to within one goal on a breakaway connection in the 67th minute.
 
It took the Beacons just four minutes to answer, scoring what would become the game-winner as Jay Jay Van Der Velde hit a header off a cross from Gutierrez for his fourth goal of the year.
 
Rocky Mountain would add another goal in the 88th minute, but it wouldn't be enough to avoid their first defeat at the hands of the Beacons.
 
Bushnell finished the game with a 12-11 advantage in shot attempts, taking nine shots-on-goal. Kainalu Smith registered his first career victory between the pipes, securing two saves.
 
The Beacons head to Washington on Sunday where they will look for another victory with a match against Walla Walla University (0-13, 0-12) at 1:00 pm.