Men's Soccer | 11/9/2019 12:16:00 AM

CHICKASHA, Okla. - An incredible inaugural men's soccer season for Oklahoma Panhandle State University came to an end on Friday, as OPSU lost in the opening round of the Sooner Athletic Conference post-season tournament to No. 3-seed University of Science and Arts-Oklahoma. The Aggies finished the season 9-6-2 overall, after dropping the 2-1 overtime decision to the Drovers (12-5-1) at McLaughlin Field.
 
Panhandle State – which defeated USAO in the regular season, 3-2 – gave the Drovers' side all it wanted on its home pitch. The teams went into the halftime locker room, knotted at 0-0, thanks to five saves by Aggie goaltender Cristhofer Monje in the segment.
 
Monje was equally effective in the second half. Monje registered nine saves in the final 45 minutes of regulation – including stopping a penalty kick attempt - to keep his team in control.
 
Panhandle broke the deadlock in the 50th minute of play, as Cheslon Carrolisen tallied his team-leading 13th goal of the season to make it 1-0, besting Drover net-minder Daniel Merkel. OPSU made that lead stand up for the next 27 minutes of the match.
 
That's when USAO got the equalizer. With a two-on-one advantage, the Drovers' Abdel Nait-Zerrad sent a ball from the left side to the front of the Aggie net and found teammate Devon Charles charging hard to direct the ball past a diving Monje to make it 1-1. That score stood for the balance of regulation.
 
Just 1:38 minutes into overtime, USAO ended the Aggies' season with its second consecutive goal scored, this one by Telmo Lertxundi.
 
Monje finished the night with 14 total saves, as USAO took 30 total shots and 16 on-goal. The Aggies had eight shots, overall, with six directly on-frame for the match.
 
Carollisen had two shots, both on-goal. Allan Gamboa had three attempts, with two saved.
 
"While I'm gutted that the season has come to an end in such a cruel way, I'm very proud of this young group for all they have accomplished in such a short amount of time," Panhandle Head Coach Brandon Misuraca said.