Fresh off a 10-0 loss at the hands of the top-ranked University of Rio Grande on Sunday, the visiting Pioneers (3-8-1, 1-5-1 AMC) came into Wednesday’s meeting with the Cougars content on concentrating on the defensive side of things by playing with just one forward and the rest of the team in the midfield or on the defensive side of the pitch.

The strategy paid off through regulation and the first overtime for Point Park as the Pioneers were able to keep MVNU (8-3-2, 5-1-2 AMC) off the scoreboard despite being out-shot 34-4 through 90 minutes of regulation and the first 10-minute overtime.

In the second overtime, Point Park actually had an opportunity for a potential game-winning shot when Miguel Alvarez came open in front goal with just sophomore goalkeeper Alex Stout in front of him. However, Alvarez did not get much on his shot and it rolled harmlessly wide as the match remained scoreless.

Then, with time winding down and the potential for the Cougars to have a third scoreless double overtime draw in conference play looming more and more likely, MVNU mounted one last scoring threat. Junior forward Scott Forster hustled after a ball on the left flank and kept it in play before lofting a cross to the far side of the box. Junior defender Brady Swanson headed the cross back towards the left side of the goal, and sophomore defender Kemar Jackson lobbed a left-footed pass back from the end line towards the mouth of the goal. Freshman forward Chris Allen (above) raced in and buried a right-footed shot into the left side netting with 1:43 left for the 1-0 victory. The goal was Allen’s fourth of the season.

“To be honest, this was not a very enjoyable match for me,” said MVNU coach Paul Furey. “It was a bit frustrating when your opponent has 10 players behind the ball and is basically just playing for a draw. It does not really make for a pretty match. Obviously, the shot totals were lopsided and the number of corner kicks indicated where the ball was for 108 minutes, yet we just could not find the back of the net.”

The Cougars finished with an overwhelming 37-5 advantage in total shots, a 17-2 edge in shots on goal, and a 9-0 margin in corner kicks. Stout posted two saves for MVNU as he notched his seventh shutout of the season and the 19th of his career as he is now just one shutout shy of tying the school record for career shutouts. Point Park’s Steve Fabian was outstanding in goal for the Pioneers as he registered 16 saves to keep his team in the match.

“(Fabian) played a superb match in goal,” said Furey. “We had heard he was good and he showed that today. I was really proud that we were resilient and did not get overly frustrated. We kept pushing and pushing and believed that eventually a goal would come and it was great that Chris (Allen) got the game-winner for us in the second overtime.”

“Kemar had an outstanding match for us as he played with a lot of energy and made things happen for us in the overtimes,” Furey added. “He really helped to set the game-winning goal up along with Brady and Scott. I am proud of our effort even in a frustrating situation. We overcame that and it showed character in winning this type of match.”

The Cougars will be back in action on Friday when MVNU will travel to Cincinnati Christian University for a non-conference match that will take place at Western Hills High School at 4:00 p.m.