ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Ashford University men's soccer Head Coach Richard Markham was about to resort to an old tactic.

With less than five minutes remaining in the second overtime, the MCC Coach of the Year was preparing names for what seemed like an inevitable shootout as the 22nd-ranked Saints (19-0-2 overall) and Viterbo University (13-6-2 overall) were deadlocked in a 2-2 tie with seconds ticking away.

But a gut feeling told him not to circle them to make it official.

"I was getting ready to pick names out of a hat," Markham mused.

Fortunately, it wasn't necessary.

Pandemonium erupted as AU sophomore Nick De Backer of Antwerp, Belgium, blasted home the game-winning goal at the 108:24 mark in the second overtime to lift the top-seeded Saints to their first ever Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament championship over the V-Hawks, 3-2.

Shirts were ripped off, the celebratory chanting began, commemorative t-shirts were passed out and players flocked at the chance to hold up the brand new plaque to adorn Ashford's trophy case.

The undefeated Saints punched their ticket to the NAIA National Championships and await their opponent for the opening round on Saturday, Nov. 21, at a site to be determined that will be announced on Sunday.

If the Saints win their first-round game, they will fly out west to Fresno, Calif., where the other top programs will convene for a shot at the national trophy Nov. 30-Dec. 5.

It is the school's first berth to the men's soccer national tournament and first since the men's basketball program (then Mount St. Clare College) qualified for the 2002 NAIA National Championships.

"I can't say enough about the heart that our team showed today," Markham said. "Viterbo is a very good team, but with five minutes left in that second overtime, I could see the fire in our guys. It was a brilliant ball by Rafa (Machado) and an unbelievable finish by Nick (De Backer)."

It took another complete team effort in the Saints' latest win as they came back down a goal on two separate occasions, a position AU hasn't been used to this year.

With 1:36 left on the clock before a shootout would commence, a streaking Rafael Machado of Sao Paulo, Brazil, fed De Backer, who darted in the box and ripped the shot past VU goalkeeper Josh Lines.

It was the exact opposite of the regular-season meeting between the Saints and V-Hawks when Machado scored the game winner on a beautiful feed by De Backer.

The sophomore duo had telegraphed the connection before the start of the game.

"We were talking about it before the match," De Backer said. "We had a feeling we would find each other and somehow knew it would happen again."

"It feels like it's straight out of a movie," he added. "I couldn't be anymore proud to be a part of this team. At the beginning of the season, no one thought we could be the regular-season conference champions or the tournament champions."

Viterbo rushed out to a 1-0 advantage in the first half in the 29th minute as Charlie Grill slipped a header in the net as the V-Hawks enjoyed a lead at the half.

Senior defender Keith Caldwell of Garden Prairie, Ill., gave the Saints a gift on the eve of his birthday, scoring the equalizer that tied the game at 1-1, just two minutes after the second half began.

But the V-Hawks threw another scare into the Saints as Tony Madigan broke free for the go-ahead goal.

AU battled back and had the answer in the form of Machado who drilled a left-footed laser past Lines following a called hand ball. The diminutive midfielder, standing at 5-5, now has three career goals against Viterbo.

"I just told our guys at the half that we can't rush and we can't panic," Markham said. "We needed to take it to them early in the second half. We're excited to be the regular season and now conference tournament champions!"