MEADVILLE, Pa. -- Cole Bowser's (Forest Hill, Md./John Carroll) golden goal in the 109th minute lifted the Allegheny College men's soccer team to a 3-2 double-overtime victory over Geneva College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) semifinals Wednesday night.
Allegheny (12-6-1), the No. 2 seed in the PAC Championship Tournament, will now advance to the title game at No. 1 Grove City College on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. It marks the first conference championship game appearance for the Gators since reaching the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship in 2007.
Although the Gators got off to a red-hot start in the first eight-and-a-half minutes against Geneva (8-3-6), it would take more than 108 minutes to bury the game-winner.
Allegheny jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals in a span of 2:37 – a header from
Will Gruca (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) in the sixth minute and a corner kick from
Arthur Every (Cranleigh, United Kingdom/Glebelands Secondary) that pinged inside the near post in the ninth minute. With two goals in quick succession and momentum on their side, the Blue & Gold appeared well on their way to a commanding performance.
But Geneva didn't go down without putting up a tremendous fight. Luke Main got one back on a free kick moments before halftime, and Logan Pappert tied it in the 69th minute. The Golden Tornadoes also outshot the Gators in the first overtime period and had several chances to net their own golden goal.
With 1:34 remaining before the contest was decided in a shootout, goalie
Cadan Bennett (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) began the winning play with a long free kick from beyond midfield.
Billy Sprott (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) then headed it into the fray, where it bounced through traffic to Bowser. The senior gathered the ball off his chest, boxed out his defender, spun towards the goal line and fired a left-footed shot into the net.
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Inside the Box Score
- Geneva held a 22-to-16 lead in shots and an 8-to-6 advantage in shots on goal.
- However, in the second overtime period, Allegheny finished with a 4-to-1 lead in shots.
- Both teams took five corner kicks, and both received one yellow card.
- Gruca, Every, and Bowser each scored once for the Gators.
- Micah Khembo (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) earned an assist on Allegheny's first goal with a well-placed cross to Gruca.
- Bennett made six saves with two goals allowed in 108:35 minutes of action.
- Geneva received goals from Main in the 45th minute and Pappert in the 69th minute.
- Goalie Eli Stasiowski had a .500 save percentage with three saves and three goals allowed.
News and Notes
- With Wednesday's win over Geneva, Allegheny earned a spot in Saturday's PAC championship match at Grove City.
- Allegheny will play for a conference title for the first time in 19 years.
- The Gators extended their win streak to nine consecutive games and are unbeaten in their last 11 contests (9-0-2).
- The unbeaten streak is the team's longest since going 10-0-1 and winning a PAC title in 1978; including the end of the 1977 season, Allegheny went 14 games without a loss (12-0-2).
- The nine-game win streak is the longest since the team posted 10 consecutive victories in 1994.
- Gruca has logged a point in four consecutive games and eight of the last nine.
- Gruca's goal was the 30th of his career, tying him for fifth-place in team history with Ziv Arie '93.
- Bowser's game-winner was his seventh goal of the year, a new single-season career-high.
Up Next
No. 1 Grove City hosts No. 2 Allegheny in the PAC championship game at Don Lyle Field on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
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