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Gators Win Thriller over ONU
September 5, 2007
MEADVILLE, Pa. - Allegheny College’s men’s soccer team (2-1) captured a thrilling 2-1 buzzer-beating victory over visiting Ohio Northern (1-2) on Wednesday, September 5, ending the contest on a header from Nathaniel Yates (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) as time expired in the contest.
The teams battled to a scoreless tie in the first half behind strong defensive efforts from both sides. Ohio Northern had the two most serious scoring threats, seeing a break-a-way shot in the 23rd minute turned away by a diving stop from Gator senior midfielder Eric Sloan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and then another scoring try foiled by a block from senior defender Pat Bowman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) in the game’s 37th minute. Both teams had six shots and two attempts on goal in the first half.
The second half took on a similar identity until the 61st minute when Allegheny freshman forward Peter Subasic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) found the back of the net for his second goal of the season, giving the Blue and Gold a 1-0 advantage.
Ohio Northern wasted little time in responding as Brian Bolibrzuch scored off a Nick Farmwald assist just under 10 minutes later to tie the score at one goal apiece.
The contest seemed destined for overtime, but the Gators didn’t oblige. After a clock stoppage from a yellow card with 3.6 second remaining, Sloan booted an Allegheny free-kick to Yates, who subsequently flicked the ball with his head into the goal as time expired, giving the Gators a 2-1 victory.
Senior goalie Ryan Larkin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) picked up the win in goal, stopping four Polar Bear shots while his counter David Esser had four saves in net for the Polar Bears.
Allegheny outshot Ohio Northern 13-11 while the Polar Bears held a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.
The Gators return to action this weekend, with the first ever Allegheny College Soccer Classic, held on Saturday and Sunday, September 8-9. Allegheny takes on the Rochester Institute of Technology at 3 p.m. on Saturday before taking on Washington and Jefferson at 3 p.m. on Sunday.