The Pioneers went on the road to play in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) Tournament this past weekend Nov. 14.

Point Park was ranked No. 20 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the No. 2 seed in the six-team, single elimination tournament.

The Pioneers started off the tournament against No. 3 seed Asbury University (Ky.).

The game went into overtime with senior Lucas Silva scoring the game winning goal in the 93rd minute of the game.

“It’s always tough to play Asbury, especially on their ground,” Silva said. “We managed to get over all the adversities and get to the final, which was our goal.”

Point Park won for the 11th time in a row and the 15th time in its last 16 games. Silva also scored his eighth game-winning goal of the season.

The Pioneers held a 12-2 advantage in shots. Goalkeeper Zak Borzovoy played all 93 minutes and did not need to make any saves.

The team then moved to play in the semifinals against No. 1 seed Rio Grande last Saturday night.

The Pioneers were the only team to beat Rio Grande in the regular season.

Rio Grande owned the first half with a 3-0 lead.  Silva scored his 26th goal in the second half of the game.  There were also a total of eight cards given through out the game, three of which were red cards.

Forward Lucas Godinho made the second goal with 27 seconds left in the game.

“Rio Grande has a great team and we knew it from the beginning,” Godinho said. “We played defensively. However, we had a red card in the first 10 minutes of the game. We gave our best until the last second of the match, but it wasn’t enough.”

With the loss, Point Park had to rely on a bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round to extend the season.

Unfortunately, with the loss against Rio Grande, Point Park fell three spots in the ranking, which left them two spots short of making nationals.

“We didn’t deserve to end like this, this team could go much further in a national scale, but what’s done is done…” Silva said.

The Pioneers were 15-3 overall and 4-0 in the KIAC.

“Nevertheless, we will take group and individual accomplishments,” Godinho said, “which is what makes us really proud of this unforgettable 2014 Point Park men’s team.”

Despite losing, Silva is still positive about the overall season.

“All that is left to do now is to congratulate the boys and the coaches for an amazing season,” Silva said. “I’ve had the time of my life these past four months; and I wish all the best for them next season so they can keep pushing this program forward.