Messiah Captures Men's Soccer Sectional Championship, Downs CNU 2-1 In Double Overtime
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – For the second straight day, Messiah played a double over time match and for the second straight day, the Falcons came out on top. The 8th-ranked Falcons defeated Christopher Newport 2-1 to advance to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Final Four.
Trailing 1-0, Messiah’s J.D. Binger found the back of the net to knot the score at 1-1 with exactly one minute to play in regulation.
The two squads played a scoreless first overtime session, but in the second, Derek Black threaded a pass to Ben Pezon for the game-winner in the 103rd minute for the Falcons 20th win of the year.
The two teams were evenly matched in the first half. The Captains Kevin Greenberg picked up two yellow cards in the first 33 minutes and was sent off the field.
The Falcons out-shot CNU in the first half, 4-3.
Winston Mattheisen’s goal in the 57th minute put the Captains on top 1-0. CNU put several balls in the box and Mattheisen knocked home the loose ball.
In the 65th minute, Bryan Davis was whistled for a hard tackle and received a red card, which put the Captains down two men for the remainder of the game.
Christopher Newport had several chances to extend its lead before Messiah tied the score, despite playing two men down.
The Falcons improve to 20-2-2 on the year and will meet the winner of Ohio Northern/Loras in the NCAA semifinals. The Captains finish the year 17-5-3.