WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Junior captain Joseph Schmid (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming
Valley West) scored the golden goal in the 102nd minute off a
25-yard strike from directly in front of the net as the Monmouth University
men's soccer team defeated Bryant, 3-2, in double-overtime Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Hawks move to 6-3-2 (1-1-1 NEC), while the Bulldogs fall to
3-5-1 (1-3-0 NEC).
"I thought that Bryant were
fantastic today in a game that typifies a lot of games in the NEC," said
Monmouth Head Coach Robert McCourt. "Our guys showed tremendous character
bouncing back from adversity. Hopefully we can use this as momentum to push
forward in the conference."
Brothers Andres and Tomas
Penfold (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) each scored in regulation for the Hawks.
Andres tied the game at 1-1 off a Ryan Clark (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township)
assist, while Tomas got on the end of a Matt Beverin (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen
Rock) corner kick in the 88th minute to tie the game at 2-2.
Following a scoreless first
half, Matt Guerriero broke the ice for the Bulldogs in the 53rd
minute. Connor Norat fed a streaking Guerriero into the top left of the box
before the freshman finished just below Monmouth goalkeeper Alex Blackburn's (Natick,
Mass./Natick) fingertips.
In the 65th minute,
Clark sent a pass into the box that reached Andres Penfold in stride. The
sophomore then beat Bryant goalkeeper George Spanos one-on-one into the upper
90 for the equalizer.
Less than two minutes later
in the 66th minute, Bryant reclaimed the lead. Shane Murphy played a
free kick from along the sideline near midfield that went untouched into the box
until it bounced off the cross bar. Kyle Jester then deposited it into the back
of the net from the doorstep.
The Hawks again knotted the
game in the 88th minute, this time off a corner kick. Beverin bent the
ball into the box where Tomas Penfold headed it in from close range.
After the teams went
scoreless through the first overtime, Schmid struck for the golden goal less
than two minutes into the second overtime session. A ball was played over the
top to a crowd near the top of the 18-yard box. The ball was knocked back out
to Schmid, who hammered a shot from 25 yards out inside the left post past
Spanos for the victory.
"It was just a lofted ball and
Andres went up for the header," said Schmid. "The ball just came out and I hit
it really well."
For the game, the Hawks took
an 11-7 edge in shots, while also taking 10 corner kicks to the Bulldogs'
three. Blackburn made three saves in securing the victory, while Spanos made
two saves for Bryant.
The Hawks return to NEC
action Thursday, when they travel to Quinnipiac to make up the game previously
scheduled for Sept. 28. Kickoff from the Quinnipiac Soccer Field is scheduled
for 3:30 p.m.
