Men's Soccer Battles to a Double-Overtime Draw with Lafayette
Oct. 6, 2007
WASHINGTON - The American University men's soccer team and the Lafayette College Leopards fervently battled for 110 minutes on Saturday at Reeves Field, but despite several scoring chances for each team the two foes finished in a scoreless tie.
The tone for the game was set early. Just 24 seconds into the contest, AU freshman Mike Worden had a golden chance in the box go just wide. That was the story of the rest of the game, as each team racked up quality forays into the box but accumulated just as many near-misses. The game's goalies - Lafayette's Philip Nelson and American's Chris Sedlak - both contributed to the offensive frustration, making seven and three saves, respectively, while also flawlessly playing a number of threatening crosses.
Perhaps Lafayette's best chance of the game came in the game's 15th minute, when senior back Scott Hawkins shot from just inside the box line caught the crossbar squarely and harmlessly deflected away.
It went that way through both regulation periods, with each team's defense stepping up at the last minute. Though LC and American combined for just 10 total shots on goal, many more eked just by the outside post. American finished with 22 shots to Lafayette's 17.
In the first overtime period, the Leopards' Kevin Miller had a golden chance go just high of the net in the 91st minute. AU responded with a shot from freshman Jon Freimark that squeaked by the outside of the net. Then Miller's replacement, B.J. Glenn also fired a shot just high. In the 99th minute, fighting exhaustion brought on by the unseasonably warm temperatures, Sedlak stepped up to make his third and final save of the game, this time on a shot from Chad Barbieri, to preserve the tie and send it to a second extra period.
Lafayette took the first three shots of the second overtime, but all missed the net. American had two more chances in them, but in the 109th minute, junior Phil Purdy, playing with his head wrapped in white gauze due to an earlier injury, fired a 25-yard blast just over the net.
It looked as if time would harmlessly tick down as the clock reached 30 seconds, but AU earned a throw-in from the left sideline, 10 yards up the field from the end-line. Freshman Nick Kapus heaved the ball into the box, where it pinballed around until it found freshman Jaime Davin 12 yards from the goal on the back pipe. He rushed a shot on net that forced Nelson to dive and knock it away as the horn sounded.
American and Lafayette remain undefeated in Patriot League play, both at 1-0-1. Lafayette's overall record goes to 6-1-3, while AU is now 4-5-2 overall.
The Eagles now hit the road for a three-game swing, starting at Penn on Tuesday, Oct. 9. That game is a 7 p.m. start. AU returns to Reeves Field on Saturday, Oct. 20, when it hosts PL rival Lehigh University at 1 p.m.
