LEBANON, Ill. | Leemon Field - 12th-ranked and second-seeded McKendree University men's soccer (13-0-7, 8-0-6 GLVC) ousted 10th-seeded Fort Hays State from the NCAA Division II National Tournament on Sunday afternoon, claiming the game in overtime on a 3-2 final. The Bearcats knotted the game in the closing minutes of each half before winning via golden goal in the first overtime period as junior forward Chris Moore found the back of the net for the first time this fall. With the victory, McKendree notches consecutive trips to the Round of 16 in the national tournament and gets the next round on its home turf on Sunday, December 1 at 3:00PM against sixth-seeded Findlay.

The Bearcats faced a foe they have not seen since since 2018 and have not seen in Lebanon since 2017, as Fort Hays State come to Leemon Field for the second round of the DII national tournament. The last time FHSU made a trip to Lebanon, the Tigers were ranked 11th and McKendree head coach Scott Gyllenborg was entering his first game and season at the helm. The Bearcats came out of the matchup against then-No.11 FHSU victorious, 3-1, for Gyllenborg's first win at McKendree.

In Sunday's battle, Fort Hays came out firing and broke through for the lead in the 22nd minute. McKendree fought back for the remainder of the first half with seven shots and tied the game up in the 39th minute. The Bearcats tied it up behind a header score by freshman midfielder Henri Poll off the dish-out by sophomore defender Bailey Winchurch. The halftime intermission came with a 1-1 knot-up on the scoreboard.

FHSU found the lead again in the second half in the 55th, holding the one goal advantage over the Bearcats until the closing minutes. In the 88th, McKendree earned a free kick following a foul just in front of its bench and Winchurch lined up to take it. Winchurch connected for a booming long ball going into the box, floating through the air and beyond the reach of the FHSU keeper to tie the game at 2-2. The second half ended in a tie, pushing the game to overtime. 

McKendree held the possession advantage in the overtime period and got into the Tiger's box, leading to a long ball which was received by Moore, who tapped it into the goal for the victory for the Bearcats. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Christian Herluf got the win in goal, collecting 10 saves on the day. 

Scoring
39th | #6 Henri Poll (2) via #3 Bailey Winchurch
88th | #3 Bailey Winchurch (2), unassisted
96th | #37 Chris Moore via #5 Philipp Muehlhans

UP NEXT | NCAA Division II National Tournament - Round of 16
December 1 | 3:00PM vs. #6 Seed Findlay | Leemon Field - Lebanon, Illinois | Live Stats / Live Stream

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