Runnin' Bulldogs Drop Tough Big South Conference Bout at Winthrop, 2-1, in Double Overtime
October 25, 2012 | Men's Soccer
Rock Hill, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team picked up a first half goal from redshirt-senior forward Taylor Jordan, yet surrendered a second half Winthrop goal on a Alex Isern penalty kick and then the game-winning goal in the 102nd minute off the right foot of Achille Obougou to fall to the Winthrop Eagles 2-1 in double overtime in a pivotal Big South Conference match at Eagle Stadium in Rock Hill, S.C.
The overtime loss puts the Runnin' Bulldogs at 1-4-1 in overtime contests and 1-8-1 in true road matches on the year. GWU falls to 3-12-1 overall and 2-4-1 in the Big South Conference, while Winthrop improves to 7-7-1 overall and 3-3-1 in conference play with the win.
The Gardner-Webb offense looked to jump on the Eagles early in the contest, as the Runnin' Bulldogs were called for an offsides call in the third minute and then saw senior midfielder John Sargent fire off the first shot of the match from 25 yards outs in the fourth minute that went low and wide left of the goal.
Winthrop's first shot attempt came only minutes later, in the seventh minute, as the Eagles put a throw in from the sidelines that slipped through Gardner-Webb goalkeeper Scott Krotee's hands. The misplayed ball found the head of Magnus Thorsson who sent a shot toward the goal from four yards out only to see it bounce off the crossbar.
After escaping the early defensive miscue without any harm, the Runnin' Bulldogs' offense got back to work in the 10th minute, as junior forward Chris Davis played the ball to fellow teammate Marius Hammersmark who then played a cross into the top of the box where Jordan finished the play off with a shot that sailed into the back of the net to put the visitors up 1-0 early in the first half.
The goal was Jordan's third of the season, while both Hammersmark and Davis were both credited with the assist.
Gardner-Webb's Hammersmark tried to push the Runnin' Bulldogs' lead to two in the 16th minute, as his shot from 25 yards out flew off target and out of play to keep the score at 1-0 through 20 minutes of play.
The Eagles would then look to tie the match up over the next several minutes, as Kyle Kennedy put a header just high of the goal in the 24th minute, which was followed up by an Obougou one-v-one shot attempt with Krotee that went wide in the 25th minute.
Krotee and the GWU defense were tested once more only 30 seconds later, as Winthrop's Mason Lavallet put on shot on frame which was hauled in by the Runnin' Bulldog keeper to keep the visitors on top at 1-0.
Both the physicality and the intensity amplified for the remainder of the opening half, as the two teams combined for five fouls and three yellow cards over the next six minutes of action with neither team able to control the pace of the match.
GWU's Davis looked to find the back of the net once more for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the 31st minute, as his header sailed just high and wide from in front of the near post.
The shot was the last one for the Runnin' Bulldogs for the next five minutes of action, as the Eagles kept the pressure on the GWU defense by recording four shots over a three-minute span.
The first shot was perhaps the Eagles' best scoring chance, as Isern received a drop pass from about 10 yards out and ripped a shot on line toward the goal where a GWU defender cleared the ball out inside the goalkeeper box to preserve the 1-0 lead in the 32 minute.
Less than a minute later, the Gardner-Webb defense would block two consecutive shots from Thorsson, while an Adam Brundle laser shot off the ensuing corner kick sailed just over the crossbar in the 35th minute.
At the 38 minute mark, Krotee would tally his third save of the match, this time halting a Lavallet shot from six yards out by diving to his left and tipping the ball away at the last minute to keep the score as is at 1-0 in favor of the Runnin' Bulldogs.
That is where the score would stand heading into the halftime break, as the Runnin' Bulldogs' defense stood strong against a quick barrage of Winthrop shots over the final 15 minutes of the opening half.
Each team looked to score first in the second half of play, as immediately out of the halftime intermission, Gardner-Webb's Sargent blasted a shot from 22 yards out which was heading toward the top of the goal until the Winthrop goalkeeper Enrique Miranda tipped it over the bar and out of play.
Winthrop's Obougou tried to tie the match up once more in the 48th minute, as he put a header off a throw in toward the goal only to see it sail right into the arms of a Krotee to deter the Eagles' scoring opportunity.
On the counter attack, Davis posted a shot high and wide of the goal in the 48th minute, while Jordan looked for his second goal of the match in the 50th minute, placing a shot on target from 18 yards out that would be captured by Miranda in goal.
The Gardner-Webb defense continued to find itself in the right place at the right time, as the next two Winthrop scoring chances would be blocked by a GWU defender, as the Runnin' Bulldogs held on to a slight 1-0 lead through 56 minutes of play.
However, on the second blocked shot attempt, the Runnin' Bulldogs were called for a handball in the box, awarding the Eagles a penalty kick.
On the penalty kick attempt, Isern got the ball past Krotee to tie the match up at 1-1 in the 57th minute of the contest and account for his seventh goal of the season.
The Runnin' Bulldogs looked to get the goal back less than a minute later, as Davis again put a shot on frame, this time from 20 yards out, only to watch Miranda make a diving save on the play to keep the match tied at 1-1.
On the ensuing counter attack, Winthrop again looked to score off a throw in as Brundle lined a shot toward the goal from 25 yards out that hit off the crossbar just over the outstretched hands of Krotee in the 60th minute.
It would be GWU's turn to take the lead minutes later, as in the 63rd minute redshirt-senior defender Jon Ole Reinhardsen collected a long corner service inside the 18 yard box and ripped a shot toward the low front corner of the goal which was corralled by Winthrop's Miranda.
Not to be outdone, GWU's Krotee came up big with another save this time on a low shot by Obougou in the 66th minute off a through ball, again keeping the match knotted up at 1-1 as time continued to tick away in the second half.
Winthrop's best chance to take its first lead of the match came in the 71st minute, as Sean Comer put a header on frame only to see it bounce off the crossbar once more, as the Eagles again were inches away from taking the lead.
After Gardner-Webb senior Jordan Day had his first shot attempt of the contest blocked in the 77th minute, the Eagles' appeared to take the lead on a goal in the 82nd minute, however, Winthrop was called for offsides on the play negating the goal and keeping the match tied up at 1-1 with less than 10 minutes to go in regulation.
Winthrop's Miranda made yet another save on a Davis shot attempt in the 85th minute, while both teams watched their last minute efforts to score the game-winning goal get blocked by the other team's defense in the final minute of play to send the match to overtime tied at 1-1.
Determined to get on the scoreboard, Davis again looked for the game-winning goal in the early stages of the overtime period, as the junior forward got a free header straight on the goal from eight yards out, but couldn't get anything behind the header and sent it wide of the goal in the 92nd minute.
Fellow Runnin' Bulldog and junior Chijioke Akujuobi beat a Winthrop defender to the ball in front of the goal and put a shot on line that was deflected wide of the goal at the last minute in the 96th minute, while Sargent's last second shot from 20 yards out was hauled in by a diving Miranda with 30 seconds to play in the overtime period to send the match into a second overtime period.
There, Winthrop's Obougou's fourth shot of the match would find the back of the net, as in the 102nd minute he received a pass from Isern just outside the top of the six yard box and took one touch to the right and ripped a shot into the top corner of the goal to give the Eagles the 2-1 win.
Krotee suffered the loss, despite making four saves for the match, while Winthrop's Miranda earned the win with six saves on the night.
Despite being outshot by the Eagles 22-17, the Runnin' Bulldogs matched Winthrop with seven shots on goal, yet posted only four corner kicks compared to the Eagles' eight on the night.
Gardner-Webb will look to snap its four-match losing streak this weekend, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will travel north to do battle with the Liberty Flames on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Lynchburg, Va. Winthrop will host VMI at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C.
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| Box Score: Winthrop 2, GWU 1 (2OT) |
