The Barry University men’s soccer team opened up the season in dramatic fashion as they came from behind to beat West Florida 2-1 in extra time.
In a match that saw two regional powers with postseason aspirations, the Bucs knew it would be a true test to start off the season. Both teams saw scoring opportunities throughout the first half but were unable to capitalize until Junior Prevalus found the back of the net for the Argonauts at the 33:08 mark to give West Florida the early 1-0 lead.
After a sluggish first half the Bucs were able to tighten up their defense and limit West Florida to 11 shots to the Buccaneer’s 19.
Senior defender Joao Garcia came in early in the second half and quickly turned the momentum with his staggering defense. Garcia helped strengthen the Bucs back-line and helped facilitate scoring opportunities. It wasn’t until the 76th minute mark that the Bucs were able to tie the score, after Kendall Sealy played a great ball up to senior Mark Anderson who was able to finish the breakaway for his first goal of the season.
Anderson, who led the Bucs in goal last year with 11, nearly broke the 1-1 tie when he fired a shot from 12 yards out, but unfortunately the ball bounced off the left post and the game went into overtime.
In the overtime session the Buccaneers wasted no time as forward Joong Kim crossed the ball into the box, redirected by freshman Eyal Schechter and finally capitalized by Sealy just six minutes into overtime for the game winner.
The Buccaneers face off against North Georgia on Sunday, Sep. 4th at Buccaneer Field starting at 1:30 p.m. Live stat coverage and radio broadcast will be available through the Barry athletic site.