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Cougars Take No. 19 Taylor to Double
Overtime before Falling
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
BOXSCORE
UPLAND, Ind. (10-29-2011) - The Mount Vernon
Nazarene University men's soccer team put
together a good game plan and then executed
it to near perfection as the Cougars battled
NAIA No. 19 Taylor (Ind.) University to
double overtime before falling on a goal in
the 105th minute in the first round of the
Mid-Central College Conference Tournament on
Saturday afternoon.
MVNU (7-11-1), the No. 8 seed in the
tournament, held the advantage in the first
half as the Cougars out-shot the top-seeded
Trojans (17-1-1) 3-1 and held a 6-2
advantage in corner kicks. The Cougars
nearly took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute,
but junior forward Brian Petak's shot was
saved by Josh Giuliano, the Taylor
goalkeeper, and the match remained scoreless
at the half.
Both teams had scoring
opportunities in the second half with four
shots apiece. The Trojans, who were the MCC
regular-season champions and defeated MVNU
4-0 back on October 1, managed to put two of
their shots on goal, but junior goalkeeper
Trevor Stewart was up to the challenge as he
notched a pair of saves. The Cougars led in
corner kicks once again 2-1, but the match
remained scoreless after 90 minutes of
regulation.
Neither team managed a
shot or corner kick in the first 10-minute
overtime period, so the match moved into a
second 10-minute period. Then, in the 105th
minute, Taylor's Jordan Grant headed in a
cross from Tim Miller that was headed to him
by Giovanny Guthro to give the Trojans the
1-0 golden goal victory and bring MVNU's
season to an end.
"We were ready to
play (Taylor) and had them on their heels in
the first half as we created some good
chances and frustrated them," said MVNU
coach Andrew Belleman as he wrapped up his
first season leading the Cougars. "We fought
and battled hard. I am extremely proud of
our guys. Even though it hurts to lose and
especially to lose the way that we did, we
have no regrets. The guys left everything on
the field today, and we can be proud of
that. I wish we could keep playing for our
seniors, but we took some steps forward
today for the future."
The Cougars
finished with an 8-6 advantage in total
shots and a 9-3 margin in corner kicks,
while Taylor led 3-2 in shots on goal.
Stewart posted two saves for MVNU, while
Giuliano stopped two shots for the Trojans.
The match was the final collegiate one
in the careers of seniors Chris Allen, Kyle
Maxam, Steve Wilging, and Eric Appiah, but
the future is bright for the Cougars as they
look forward to the 2012 season.
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