SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – A growing rivalry got deeper, a backline established its dominance, and Argo soccer took one step closer to a conference championship and a place in the 2016 NAIA Men's Soccer Championships with a 4-0 win over no. 1 seed Rocky Mountain College in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Semifinals.
 
UGF controlled the entirety of the game, in a repeat of the team's 4-0 win over the Battlin' Bears during the regular season, Rocky's only conference loss of the year. The win also avenged the Argo's 1-0 loss to RMC in the 2015 CCC Finals.
 
"Our guys were fantastic tonight. They obviously wanted this match badly after how the last few seasons have gone against Rocky in the playoffs," UGF Head Coach Joseph Yeisley said. "They went out and executed the game plan and took advantage of the opportunities we created. I couldn't be happier for these guys."
 
Christoffer Bisbo, the hero from UGF's 2-0 win over The Evergreen State College in the opening round of the tournament, once again struck first for UGF. The junior forward found himself in the right place at the right time in the 18th minute, getting on the end of a deflected shot from senior Camilo Martinez and finishing from 3-yards out.
 
In the following 10 minutes, the Argos put another 2 shots on goal and hit a third off the crossbar with a relentless attack. That pressure went from threatening to game breaking in the 32nd minute.
 
It started with a long cross from the right wing by senior outside back Anthony Mota that found senior forward Mohamed Oulare open on the RMC goal line. Oulare, the team's leading scorer, knew just what to do, making the score 2-0.
 
Just over 40 seconds later a Battlin' Bear foul set up a 40-yard free kick for the Argos. The set piece was taken by UGF's other starting outside back, Edgar Ortiz. The senior whipped the ball into the RMC penalty box and found senior center back Sam Howard who shot from close range to create a stunning 3-0 lead for the Argos.
 
By this point three of the four members of UGF's backline had either contributed a goal or an assist in the game while holding the third ranked offense in the conference to just three total shots in the first half. The odd man out on the scoring sheet so far, was junior center back Rasmus Madsen, playing in his second game since late September due to injuries.
 
The return of the talented Dane solidified the Argo defense against Evergreen the day before, and did the same against Rocky. Early in the 2nd half against the Battlin' Bears, however, Madsen made his impact more obvious.
 
In the 49th minute the junior stepped to a free kick from just above the RMC penalty box at the center of the field and joined his fellow defenders as point scorers in the game with his first goal of the season.
 
"Rasmus being back in the lineup has been huge for us this postseason," Yeisley said. "He is obviously a talented player, but he also understands what it takes to be successful in the big moments and that has lifted our backline's performance tremendously."
 
With the score at 4-0, Rocky made a strong push offensively which resulted in more shots for the Battlin' Bears but not in any shots on goal. Ultimately, the Argos were able to cruise through the final portion of the game, knowing it was advancing to the CCC Championship match.
 
Meeting UGF in the final will be a familiar postseason opponent, Corban University. The two teams played an instant classic in the 2015 CCC semifinal, with UGF winning 2-2 (8-7) in an 11-round penalty shootout. When the two teams played earlier this season, the Warriors came up with a 2-1 victory after the Argo led most of the way with a 1-0 lead.
 
The Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship will be played on Monday, November 7 at 4 p.m. MT in Springfield, Ore.