(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 10) – The No. 24 McKendree men's soccer team bested the Panthers of Drury University 3-2 this Sunday afternoon after forcing an overtime period after an explosive second half. With the win, the Bearcats advance to the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship Tournament Semifinals for the second year in a row.
Drury got off to a quicker start in the first half, out-shooting the Bearcats eight to two through the first 45 minutes and found the back of the net first in the 27
th minute of play. The Panthers would head into halftime with a 1-0 lead, thought McKendree was not done. In just the 47
th minute of play, freshman
Michael Hodgson (Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England) sent a header into the Drury net on a rebound from a
Matthew Moran (Perryville, MO/Perryville High School) shot. The Panthers responded in the 55
th minute, though, to regain a 2-1 lead over the Bearcats. As the match approached the end of regulation, McKendree was once again able to tie the game up as junior midfielder
Eddie Davis (Arundel, England/Amersham College) sent a shot past the Drury goalkeeper off a superb through ball from
Ryan Herling (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) in the 77
th minute of play. After a few chances from both sides, the match headed into the first overtime period.
McKendree and Drury both had initial opportunities to ice the game to begin overtime, though redshirt-junior goalkeeper
Pachu Cortazar (Asuncion, Paraguay/Santa Teresa de Jesus) temporarily saved the day after clamping down on a point-blank header from the Panthers. The game was officially saved as senior
Javi Soto (Santiago, Chile) juked-out multiple Drury defenders down the left side of the Bearcat offensive zone to set up sophomore
Diego Tapia-Fraites (Hong Kong/YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College) for a go-ahead goal and the game winner in the 96
th overall minute of play. Cortazar made five saves in the victory.
The Bearcats will be back in action this upcoming Friday, November 15 as they take on fifth-seeded Southern Indiana at a time TBD.