GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's soccer team kept its playoff hopes alive with a crucial 2-1 home win over The Evergreen State College.  Play  was even throughout and if not for a diving defensive save late in the second half, probably would have gone into overtime.
 
"Today was a big performance with our backs against the wall. It's been a tough couple of weeks for the team so I was glad to see them find a way today," Head Coach Joseph Yeisley said. "This was truly a gritty win. We got big contributions from multiple players playing roles they usually don't."
 
UP started the scoring in the 18th minute with one of the NAIA's leading scorers striking again. Senior forward Christoffer Bisbo was questionable to even play, but despite being hobbled on a bad knee was to make an athletic sliding effort to get on the end of a well-placed cross from senior forward Christopher Chavez. The goal was  Bisbo's  twelfth of the season.
 
Not long after, Bisbo was subbed out, having done his job and wouldn't return until the second half.
 
Evergreen answer back in the 33rd minute with substitute Shina Aborowa making an immediate impact. He received a pass from Issa Hassan and controlled it in the top right of the Argo penalty box and let  lose  a hard shot that UP's Marc Girones couldn't save. The ball hit off the bottom of the crossbar and then bounced down and across the goal line.
 
Aborowa's time on the field was inconsistent. He after scoring, he was forced to go to the sideline to put on shin guards. He then didn't start the second half and then left the field with an injury.
 
With both Aborowa and Bisbo playing limited minutes for the rest of the game, a 1-1 finish seemed likely. That all changed in the 77th minute. An Argo corner kick found the head of  sophomore  center back Ole Cloppenburg who put it in the back of the net for his first goal of the season and the second of his career.
 
UP worked hard to fend off the Geoducks for the next 13 minutes and almost gave up an equalizer a few minutes later. A long ball played into the Argo penalty box was met well by UP goalkeeper Marc Girones. The junior leaped over a group Geoduck attackers and caught the ball, but on the way down he hit off some bodies and the ball squirted loose.
 
With Girones on the ground and the ball behind him, TESC's Sasa Yodkerepauprai got to the ball and had a seemingly open net from 7 yards out. His low, hard shot was going in but at the last second freshman outside back Braden Bloom slid in feet first and cleared the ball off the goal line to save the lead.
 
"I thought the game was really summed up for us by the big save off the line by Braden. It wasn't our prettiest performance, but the guys put it all out there for each other today and had each other's backs in all the key moments," Yeisley said.
 
Before the game ended, UP almost extended the lead. The Argos did a good job of maintaining possession after Bloom's  game saving  effort, but instead of just holding the ball, junior Luis Macias took as shot  89th  minute. The unexpected effort was a masterful blast from distance that had the keeper beat but plunked off the crossbar instead of scoring.
 
The win brings the Argos back to .500 with a 6-6 (4-4) record and gives the team 15 points towards the conference standings. Those 15 points them in a four-way tie for seventh place in the conference with the top eight teams in the standings making it to playoffs.
 
Had UP lost the team's playoff hopes would probably have been all but over. As it is, if the team gets a win against Northwest University in its next game, a home contest on Saturday, October 21 at 3:30 p.m. the team will have a good shot at the postseason.