After a rocky start to their regular season, the Park University Men’s Soccer team has come back in the standings to place first in the final weeks of the season. The team’s first-place ranking earned them a first round bye in the American Midwest Conference tournament.

Park took on William Woods University in the AMC Conference Semifinals. William Woods, coming off their win against Mid-Continent in the AMC quarterfinals, looked to take home the title.

Mario Erpel, Carlos Trombini-Filho, Kiel Williams and Lucas Sousa each got a goal in the game putting four points on the board for Park. William Woods got one goal on the board too late as Park moved on to the AMC Championship with a 4-1 win.

The No. 1 ranked Park advanced to the AMC Championship to take on the No. 3 ranked Hannibal LaGrange at Julian Field, in a winner take all game.

In the first half, Hannibal-LaGrange took control of game with two goals. Park came back in the second half with goals from George Kennedy, Erpel and Ronaldo Flacao as Park took the lead 3-2. Hannibal-LaGrange was far from beaten, coming back to tie it up and take it to overtime.

Both teams went into overtime with their guards up on defense, which lead to two scoreless overtimes and then to a shootout. Both teams were allowed four penalty kicks, Hannibal made two goals out of four, sending one wide and one striking the cross bar, only to be denied. Park made all four shots clenching both the regular season title, as well as the tournament.

After the championship six players from the team earned honors on the AMC First-Team All-Conference team and Head Coach Efrem Shimlis was named AMC Coach of the Year. Carlos Trombini-Filho led Park in scoring with eight goals and assists and 24 points.

Five other Pirates made the list, Lucas Sousa with 17 points, Williams with 15 points, Ignacio Garay with five points and Gabriel Alves with five points.

With the AMC win, the team has earned a bid to the NAIA National Championship this Saturday, Nov. 23, in Montgomery, Ala.