Both the Las Positas College men's and women's soccer teams are moving on to Round 2 after winning penalty kick shootouts in their first-round games of the Northern California Regional Playoffs at Santa Rosa Junior College on Wednesday.
Both squads ended regulation and two overtime periods all tied up and needed penalty kick shootouts to decide who would advance to the next round.
The LPC men, seeded No. 22 for the playoffs, trailed late against No. 11 Santa Rosa. But in the final moments of extra time, Adam Chapman secured the equalizing goal in the 90th minute.
On the play, Dylan Ersham beat his defender down the sideline and crossed the ball to Chapman who headed it in for the epic goal.
After two scoreless OT periods, the Hawks won the shoot out 4-1. LPC was able to convert on its first four attempts. Goalkeeper Sean Miller came up with a big save on the Bear Cubs' second kick while SRJC missed on its third.
The women's contest between the No. 19-seeded Las Positas women and No. 14 Santa Rosa was a scoreless battle after 120 minutes of soccer. But the penalty kick shootout saw plenty of action as the Falcons' pulled out the 6-5 PK victory.
Goalkeeper Ava Buckles, who posted a shutout in regulation, came up big in the shootout. She knocked in the Hawks' sixth and final PK and then turned around and stopped Santa Rosa's final attempt to secure the win.
Head coach Andrew Cumbo, who leads both the men's and women's programs, was extremely proud of his teams' efforts.
"Both of my teams played their hearts out and left it all on the field," Cumbo said. "They grinded in regulation and we were absolutely prepared for penalty kicks. All the time and energy we put in to training this week paid off.
"This is a legendary day in my career and for our soccer programs at LPC."
Both teams advance to second-round games on Saturday (Nov. 19). The men head to No. 6 Cosumnes River College for an 11 a.m. playoff match while the women play at No. 3 Sierra at 2 p.m.
Three wins are needed by Las Positas to advance to the 2022 CCCAA State Championships on Dec. 2 & 4 at American River College in Sacramento.
