WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- The Christopher Newport men's soccer team continues to battle against some of the toughest teams in the region, but suffered it's third consecutive overtime loss on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 2-1 decision at No. 18 Lycoming College. Taking on their second nationally-ranked foe in the last three games on the road, the Captains faced extra time for the third straight game, falling to 3-4-0 on the season after the setback.
It marks the first time since the 2009 postseason the Captains have played in three straight overtime games. On Saturday, the Warriors captured the game-winning goal just one minute into the OT period, improving to 6-1-1 on the year.
The Captains took a 1-0 lead in the first half when sophomore
Justin Wilson put the Captains ahead on a rebound. Senior midfielder
Zachary Ballard started the play when he found rookie
Ethan Larson for a shot on-goal. The Lycoming goalkeeper stopped the first attempt, but Wilson got a head on the rebound for the redirect into the goal. It was Wilson's first goal of the season.
On the other end of the field, senior goalkeeper
Zach Pedini was doing everything he could to keep the potent Warriors offense off the board, making four saves in the first half to keep the Captains ahead, 1-0. He made two more in the second half before Lycoming broke through with the equalizer in the 70th minute of action.
Josh Cruz took a free kick from about 35 yards out and scored the game-tying goal, igniting a run by the Warriors offense. They continued to test Pedini, who made a career-high 9 saves in the contest. After the goal, Pedini stoned another attempt by Cruz just a minute later, and another shot in a flurry of attempts in the 73rd minute, knocking down a Colin Wieand try.
The Captains got a pair of shots on-goal in the final three minutes, as Wilson and
Jordan Boone connected on frame for CNU, but could not get a shot by Chris Solecki in goal for the Warriors. Lycoming had the final look at the goal in regulation when Kalu Ume tested Pedini, but the senior netminder turned him away with just over a minute remaining.
The home team scored the game-winning goal early in the first overtime, knocking in a shot off the foot of Jimmy Wilcox right at 91 minutes played. Sainclair Tueno and Zach Raut combined for assists to Wilcox, who fired a shot into the left corner of the goal for the win.
Lycoming held a 17-7 edge in total shots, including an 11-5 disparity in shots on-goal.
The Captains will return to action next Saturday, September 29 as they open conference play at home against Penn State Harrisburg. Played as part of a doubleheader with the women's team, CNU will kick off at approximately 6:00 pm at Captains Field.
