LEXINGTON, VA - The Keydets knew coming into their match against Mount Saint Mary's on Saturday that they would be in for a fight. That proved to be very true. Down two goals late in the second half, the Keydets (2-0-0) stormed back at the end of the half, and notched the game winner in the second OT session for the 3-2 victory.
The first half of Saturday's match featured two very equally talented teams, both moving the ball effectively and playing very aggressively. The Mountaineers (0-2-0), were coming off a heartbreaking 0-1 loss to Radford on Friday night, and the Keydets were trying not to let down after a 4-0 victory over Southern Virginia.
The Keydets were forced to make a last-minute change in goal bringing sophomore John Sollock (Huntsville, Texas/Huntsville) into the match to solidify the net for VMI. Sollock proved to be up for the task immediately by holding the Mountaineers scoreless in the first half, and batted away a couple of close scoring chances.
"(John) Sollock had to step up at the last minute and be ready," said VMI Head Coach
Stephen Ross. "John played a tremendous game, and the kid plays with a lot of heart 100 percent of the time."
When the two teams came out for the second half with the game tied at zero, it was looking like it would be more of the same, with both sides struggling to get on the board. However, Mount Saint Mary's capitalized just two minutes into the half when midfielder Luke Strutt (Sheffield, England/All Saints RC) connected on a header from teammate Phillip Rub (Glenwood, Md./Glenelg) to open the scoring and give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.
Twenty-minutes later the Mountaineers were on the board again thanks to a 10-yard volley from Brandon Moncrief (Northport, Ala./Tuscaloosa Academy) that found its way into the VMI net. All of a sudden, the Keydets were behind 2-0 with only 25-minutes remaining. One minute after the Mountaineers went up 2-0, sophomore midfielder Josh Hanna (Virginia Beach, Va.) struck a perfect ball from 35-yards away that found the upper-right part of the goal, immediately bring VMI back into the game.
"That was an incredible shot," said Ross. "Josh Hanna really played an incredible game today for us, and gave us the opportunity to win the game."
With the score clock reading under eight-minutes to play, the Keydets got another impressive play from Hanna, as he sent a ball in front of the net and senior Kyle Fricke (Richmond, Va./JR Tucker) redirected it enough to get past the keeper, tying the game up at two apiece.
"I am really proud of the way they fought back in the second half," said Ross. "It really shows there is no quit in this team."
The Hanna-magic continued minutes into the second overtime session as he crossed a perfect ball to the middle, and junior Charles Nweke (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox) finished it off for his first goal of the season. After being down two-goals with not much time left, the Keydets now found themselves celebrating with a huge victory.
"This win says a lot about the quality and character of this team," commented Ross. "They (Mount Saint Mary's) played a great game but we found the will to win. We have a young team but they are maturing very quickly and I am proud of them."
The Keydets will have the week to rest before they travel to Jacksonville, Fla. to compete in the Adidas Invitational tournament. Games are slated for Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:00 PM against Jacksonville University and Sunday, Sept. 11 at 11:00 AM, when they take on Stetson University.
