Northeastern Soccer Falls in PKs to Otero

The season ended in a penalty kick shootout for Northeastern men's soccer on Saturday, November 2.

The second seed Plainsmen would lose to conference third seed Otero Junior College 5-3 in the shootout in the Region IX Semifinal at Regency Athletic Complex in downtown Denver. The match was tied 1-1 after 110 total minutes that included two, 10-minute overtime periods.
Earlier in the season, it was Northeastern beating Otero 4-1 in La Junta, Colo., to begin Region IX play for both teams.

This time, under the lights of the Denver skyline, it was a semifinal with a bid to the Region IX Final on the line. Both teams began the match in a nervous, feeling out process but it quickly turned into another great match-up. With both going through spells of momentum and each team creating chances, they would go into halftime tied 0-0.

In the 57th minute, Otero would score the first goal of the match on a fast counter-attack that ended in a combination at the top of the box and a powerful, one-time finish past Northeastern freshman goalkeeper Pelayo Quevedo. With their backs to the wall, the Plainsmen fought to level the match 1-1 through sophomore captain Quentin Hornung in the 68th minute. Sophomore Paul Caliari provided the beautiful assist that allowed Hornung the space to tee up the pinpoint perfect shot into the upper corner. With that goal, Hornung finished the season with 14 goals and 38 points, which puts him in second in Northeastern soccer history for goals and points in a single season behind Jean Carre (21 goals and 47 points).

After 90 minutes, the match would go into overtime tied 1-1. The teams traded the run of play during the two extra 10-minute periods but neither would score as they then entered into a penalty kick shootout. Northeastern would enter the shootout confident with goalkeeper Quevedo in the frame after he put together a spectacular performance with 8 total saves. A Plainsmen miss on their first attempt was too much to overcome as Otero made all five of their kicks to win the shootout 5-3. Otero would advance to the Region IX Final the next day against 1-seed Laramie County Community College. The match was won 3-2 by LCCC who repeated as champions.

The Northeastern men's soccer team finished the 2019-2020 season with an overall record of 13-5-3 which ranks tied for 2nd in program history in wins behind the 2018-2019 team who won 14 games. Their Region IX record of 8-1-1 earned them second place in the new format, 11-team region. The impressive 1.21 goals-against average is good for second behind the 2018-19 squad (0.87 GAA). The team's 54 goals scored now ranks first in program history for total goals scored in one season. Their 2.57 goals per game average and the home record of 9-1 are both best in program history.