UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – No. 9 seed Rogers State men's soccer (9-5-7) pushed No. 1 seed Saginaw Valley State (12-5-2) to the brink with a 0-0 draw at the end of overtime, but the Hillcats run in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament came to an end as the Cardinals advanced to the next round with a 4-2 decision in a penalty kick shootout on Sunday.
 
"I am so proud of what our team accomplished this season," said Head Coach Derek Larkin. "Today, we had all the chances, but it just didn't happen for us. It has been a true joy coaching these young men and for this university! As always, it is great day to be a Hillcat!"
 
Declan Viljoen was a stone wall in goal as he earned his sixth shutout of the season, making four saves against five shots on goal.
 
Incredible defense was the story of the match for both sides. In the first half, the Hillcats outshot the Cardinals 8-6 with the two teams taking two shots apiece on goal. RSU wasted no time going on the attack as Brandon O'Rourke tested the SVSU keeper just 67 seconds into the match. Saginaw Valley peppered Viljoen with shots in the second and eighth minutes. The Hillcats had another scoring opportunity in 31st minute as Noah Preston-Watkins tried to send a shot to top right corner of the goal, but a Cardinal defender was there to make the save.
 
Things remained tight in the second half with RSU again outshooting SVSU 10-4 with four shots on target to the just one. Louis Bassett attempted to get the Hillcats on the board in the 61st minute as he fired a shot right at the Cardinal keeper. O'Rourke again had a scoring opportunity in the 65th minute that was saved. Alex Fletcher and Alex Laing both tried to break the stalemate in the 79th and 81st minutes, respectively.  
 
In the first overtime period, both teams had a chance to end the game in the 95th and 97th minutes, respectively. In the second overtime period, the Hillcats tried to end things immediately in the 100th minute as Trindon Turner fired a shot that the SVSU keeper made an incredible diving stop on to keep the match alive. In the 103rd minute, the Cardinals fired a shot off the left post. Neither team was able to find the back of the net, which forced a penalty kick shootout to determine a winner.
 
After both keepers made saves in the first round of the shootout, the Cardinals' Francisco Capellan scored the first goal in the second round. Erik Hjertsson answered to level things at 1-1. SVSU's Matty Telfer put the Cardinals up 2-1. After O'Rourke had his shot saved to end the third round, the Cardinal's Nick Kay increased their lead to 3-1. Louis Bassett kept the Hillcats' hopes alive as he cut the deficit to 3-2. Unfortunately, SVSU's Ryan Bovee punched his team's ticket to the next round with a made goal and the Cardinals took the shootout 4-2 in the fifth round.
 
With the result, this brings an end to this era of Hillcat Men's Soccer as Head Coach Derek Larkin announced earlier this year that he would be stepping away from coaching at the end of the season and transitioning into an administrative role for Rogers State Athletics.