Sometimes the breaks go your way, sometimes they go against you. For the Mid-Continent University men's soccer team, Saturday was one of those days where the breaks fell just right.
The Cougars (6-3, 2-0) took advantage of several bounces in the final seven minutes of regulation and overtime against Union (Tenn.) University, taking a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 victory just 1:32 into extra time.The win was the second consecutive come-from-behind victory for the Cougars.
Union broke the ice in the 24th minute when Kemal Gogic scored off a feed from Diego Santos. The goal came as the Cougars desperately attempted to clear the ball from in front of their own goal, but were unable to get out of harm's way. The Bulldogs held the 1-0 advantage for most of the rest of the way, but a key miss came back to haunt Union.
With 6:24 to play in the match, Sutton Shults fired a shot past Mid-Continent netminder Adam Lewis, but it clanged off the post and the Cougars were able to clear it away. Exactly one minute later, another break went the way of the Cougars.
James Landham, the Union goalkeeper, darted out of his net to play a free-kick taken by Mid-Continent's Rafael Alves, but the wind took the ball further than Landham expected. In a desperate attempt to prevent the equalizer, Landham tried to punch the pall away with his right hand, but succeeded only in playing it away from his own defenders, and the ball rolled into the wide open net. The goal was Alves' first of the season, and forced an extra session, as regulation concluded in a 1-1 tie.
A minute and a half into overtime, the Cougars put the finishing touches on the victory. Jan Chvojan won a loose ball in the Cougars defensive half of the field and carried it into the center circle, before launching a feed to Keagan Bacchus. Bacchus won the ball off the bounce, beating his defender and chipping the ball over Landham for the game winning goal.
Chvojan's assist extended his streak of consecutive matches with at least one point to five, while Bacchus is in the midst of a four-match points streak. Lewis (2-1) earned the win in goal for the Cougars, while Landham (3-5-1) took the loss.
Mid-Continent will hit the road on Tuesday, traveling to McKendree, Ill. to take on the Bearcats of McKendree University (11-0) - their second match against an NCAA Division II opponent in 2011. The Cougars took a 3-2 win from their only other Division II opponent - Oakland City (Ind.) University - back on September 1.