MEDFORD, Ore. - A historic season just keeps getting better for the Carroll Men's Soccer team. The Fighting Saints held off Oregon Tech 2-1 on Tuesday evening to advance to the CCC Championship match for the first time in program history.

The Fighting Saints (14-2-3) refused to lose on Tuesday, fending off a consistent Owl (9-8-3) attack to advance to the CCC title game for the first time in the 10-year history of the program.

With a ticket to the NAIA National Championship, and a CCC crown already in hand, the Fighting Saints could have come out and taken things easy in Tuesday's semifinal matchup of the 2024 CCC Championship. Instead, the Saints withstood a heavy OIT attack, controlling the game en route to their first appearance in the conference's championship match in program history.

For the first time in a long time, the Saints found themselves on the bottom-end of the shot chart.

While being out-shot 9-5 in the first half, it was Carroll who would put the first points of the game on the board, scoring in the 33rd minute.

Second Team All-CCC Midfielder Michal Mojzis (Bratislava, Slovakia / SR) scored his third goal of the season, assisted by fellow captain Caleb Hoxie (Helena, Mont. / GR) to give Carroll a 1-0 advantage at the break.

Carroll would withstand any effort the Owls threw their way in the second half, and eventually found an insurance goal off the foot of Matt Wigton (Annapolis, Md. / SR), featuring an assist from First Team All-CCC'er Alan Gutierrez (Reno, Nev. / JR).

Oregon Tech would get one back in the waning minutes, as Dalton Rideout scored his first goal of the season in the 84th minute, but the late effort would prove far too little as the Saints enacted their revenge for last season's CCC Tournament loss with a 2-1 win.

CCC Goalkeeper of the Year, Juan Muniz Navarrete saved three shots, keeping the Saints in control of the elimination match throughout.

The Saints will now await their opponent for Thursday's 3 p.m. (MST) championship match, where they will play either Warner Pacific or Eastern Oregon for the tournament crown.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com for a preview of the match, and to stay up to date on everything going on in Carroll Athletics.

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