90 minutes of regulation and a pair of 15 minute overtime periods wasn't enough to decide the winner between No. 12-seeded Taft College and No. 5 Butte College in a first-round game of the Northern California Regional Playoffs on Friday in Oroville. The contest came down to a penalty kick shootout that was won by Taft by a score of 3-1, advancing the Cougars to Round 2 of the playoffs.
The game is officially recorded as tie and improved Taft to 11-4-7 overall. The Cougars await their second-round opponent, either No. 4 De Anza College (12-2-5) or No. 13 Lake Tahoe Community College (10-7-3) who play on Saturday.
A win by De Anza would send the Cougars to Cupertino for Tuesday's (Nov. 23) playoff game or an upset by Lake Tahoe would give TC a home game.
Two more wins are needed by the Cougars to advance to the CCCAA Soccer State Championships on Dec. 3 and 5 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.