Hawks Soccer Earns Trip to Final Four Round of NCAA Tournament

With a victory following an exciting penalty kick shootout, the Rockhurst University Hawks men’s soccer team punched their ticket to Pensacola, Florida, for the national semifinals of the NCAA Division II men’s soccer tournament.

After winning their fifth Great Lakes Valley Conference title in 11 years in the first week of November, the Hawks earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They beat second-seeded Northwood University on Friday, Nov. 20, to clinch the NCAA Midwest Region crown.

On Sunday, Nov. 22, the Hawks took on the Fort Hays State University Tigers in the quarterfinal round, with a trip to the University of West Florida for the semifinal round of the tournament on the line. Fort Hays State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the 21st minute, but Rockhurst’s sophomore forward Claudio Romano would answer a mere 15 seconds later.

The game would remain tied through the rest of the game and two overtime periods. In the penalty kick round, junior forward Mitch Moncada, sophomore midfielder Adam Michel, junior midfielder Gianluca Bottoni and Romano each scored. Rockhurst's sophomore goalkeeper Logan Feldmann blocked two of Fort Hays’ three penalty shots, giving the Hawks the win.

Fifth-ranked Rockhurst will face 17th-ranked California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in the semifinals, which is set for 8 p.m. CDT on Thursday, Dec. 3. The team last appeared in the tournament’s Final Four in 2013.