EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Looking to shake up the River States Conference Tournament bracket and avenge a 1-0 defeat to Oakland City back on Oct. 16 at Shawnee Turf in Portsmouth, the men's soccer program at Shawnee State put a serious scare into the homestanding Mighty Oaks as the Bears, despite being outshot 11-3 over an affair that went the full 110-minute distance en route to coming down to penalty kicks, fought valiantly in its attempt to secure a victory and a date at Rio Grande Saturday afternoon.
However, in that penalty kick session, Oakland City was ultimately able to convert on four out of its five PKs, with Oakland City's Alexander Levin supplying the difference as the Bears fell by a 4-2 difference in penalty kick conversions in a hard-fought match on both sides Wednesday evening in the River States Conference Quarterfinals, with the match between Shawnee State and Oakland City being held at the Goebel Complex in Evansville, Ind.
Shawnee State only took two shots over the entirety of the match -- but its very first attempt proved to be pure -- as a familiar face etched his way into the scoring column.
Receiving a pass from the near side corner into the middle of the box, Shawnee State sophomoreÂ
João Coqueti Léo put together a beautiful finish -- as his header at the very center of the box beat the diving attempt of Oakland City goalkeeper Jacob Robinson, putting the Bears ahead by a 1-0 tally in the 12th minute of play.
The goal was the third of the season for the sophomore from Brazil -- and the seventh of Coqueti's career, allowing Shawnee State to take a 1-0 lead early on in the contest.
Shawnee State's second attempt was also close.
Receiving a pass up ahead following a well-placed ball from
Sei Aitoku, Shawnee State senior
Marco Riva had an opportunity on the left side of the box that nearly resulted in SSU beating Robinson again. However, Riva's shot missed by whiskers off to the right -- keeping the Bears' lead at a 1-0 tally.
 A freak play allowed Oakland City to then capitalize and tie the match at a goal. On a foul that resulted in a free kick, the Shawnee State defense appeared to deflect the ball away from the goal. However, a Ross O'Brien pass bounced off of the ground and high up into the air, where Alexander Levin came flying in from the far side post to head the ball home with 1:17 left to play in the opening half, tying the score.
In the second half, Shawnee State received another opportunity to grab control back in the 69th minute after a red card was supplied to Oakland City following a hard foul, but the free kick opportunity missed off to the left side. Neither team was able to mount a serious charge over the final 20 minutes, commencing the overtime sessions.
Toby Forsythe, who enjoyed another gem of a performance for Shawnee State in goal, racked up five saves during the contest -- with his last, a diving stop on a shot by Oakland City's Ethan John, being a true gem as Forsythe dove to his left instantaneously with traffic in front of him in the 98th minute.
Outside of a cross that nearly found home in the final few seconds of the second overtime for Oakland City, neither team was able to muster a serious run at the net. In the shootout, Shawnee State made each of its first two attempts but missed its final two, and despite a save by Forsythe that kept the match alive, Levin, with Oakland City holding a 3-2 advantage in penalties converted, was able to convert, as the Bears unfortunately saw its season come to a close.
Despite the loss, the Shawnee State senior class of Riva,
Nikos Pontikis,
Alfie Maynard,
Clement Akanyah, Belo Bitencourt,
Trevor Aveiro Masanjala and
Ephraim Mutombo were vital in securing 15 wins over the last two seasons and Shawnee State's first winning record since 2022 this season in the process. Pontikis, Riva, Masanjala, Bitencourt and Mutombo, who were each with the program for four seasons, helped Shawnee State go 32-29-12 during their team in an SSU uniform.
Along with the seven seniors, Forsythe, behind his five-save contest, officially broke a 13-year Shawnee State men's soccer single season program record Wednesday -- posting a 1.38 goals-against-average mark to nab the lowest single-season GAA in the history of the program. The Gahanna, Ohio native made 64 saves in 2025.
