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By James Hernandez

A pair of wins in the 2017 Region XVIII tournament was all that stood between CSN Men's soccer and a return trip to the Western District tournament. It was a tall task, however after clinching the 2017 SWAC regular season crown and securing home field advantage for the Region XVIII tournament it was the Coyotes with the inside track to advance in the postseason.

Utah State Eastern was the first obstacle in Southern Nevada's quest for postseason glory and no one would blame the Coyotes for being a bit confident heading into the matchup after posting a 2-0-1 mark versus the Eagles in the regular season. Freshman Luis Olandez put CSN ahead 1-0 just eight minutes into the match with a great shot that found the back of the courtesy of a perfect feed off the foot of Oscar Rodriguez. Both defenses adjusted play from that point, as CSN entered the locker room with a 1-0 lead after the opening 45 minutes of play. The match remained tight until Juan Rodriguez tallied the Coyotes second goal of the match thanks to a helper from teammate Marcos DelAngel-Parra in the 59^th minute to make it 2-0 in favor of the good guys. Bruno Aleman styled a goal in the 87^th minute off a great feed from Manny Lopez to put the victory on ice. Goalkeeper Miguel Navarrete secured his third shutout of 2017 as Southern Nevada cruised into Saturday afternoon's title match versus #3 seed Snow College.

A "war" is defined as "A conflict between different nations, states or groups engaging in a battle to establish itself as the superior side" and although the term has become an overused cliché in sports, it was the perfect way to describe what we were about to see Saturday afternoon. CSN entered Saturday having lost just one match in two season's on its home field, however an upstart Badgers team was determined to turn that one into a two. Both clubs scrapped and clawed in the opening 45 minutes and despite CSN outshooting Snow 5-1 the match went into halftime scoreless. The Coyotes and Badgers found a way to step up the scoring chances in the second half, but with both keepers up to the task the game remained scoreless after 90 minutes of play. Southern Nevada absolutely dictated the pace of play in the first overtime, outshooting the Badgers 5-0, however they were unable to net the matches first goal so both teams played on. Overtime two saw much of the same from a pair of teams on tired legs and despite the Coyotes outshooting the Badgers 22-10, penalty kicks would decide the 2017 Region XVIII Men's champion. Both sides converted their first six penalty kicks and with the Badgers holding a 7-6 edge, CSN co-captain Conner Malone hit cross bar on the team's seventh attempt to secure the victory and Region XVIII tournament title for Snow College.

Despite a gut wrenching loss, 2017 Region 18 coach of the year Geoff Hawkins will always hold this 2017 group in high regards.

CSN placed eight players on either the All-Region XVIII first or second teams including back to back keeper of the year Miguel Navarrete and 2017 player of the year Manuel Ponce.

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