UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, OH – For many fans, athletes or coaches, the difference in the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat can be mere inches.
For the Wilmington College men's soccer team, the chance to complete a comeback from three goals vanished by the matter of inches.
Wilmington had its season come to an end Friday in the semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 4-3 overtime loss to John Carroll in blustery conditions at Don Shula Stadium. The Fightin' Quakers finished the season at 10-8-1. It was WC's first loss in overtime all season.
"It's very, very disappointing," said Wilmington head coach Bud Lewis. "To comeback and to lose in overtime. It was a great comeback; our kids didn't quit. I have lost too many games in overtime (at John Carroll)."
After falling behind 3-0, junior Dan Wicks (Cincinnati, OH/Reading) almost brought rejoice to the Wilmington sidelines in the 89th minute, but his shot clanged off the post. Both teams had chances in the extra session, but the Blue Streaks finally struck the game winner in the 95th minute.
Getting the game to overtime was a feat in itself for the Quakers. John Carroll scored the game's first goal just 1:26 into the contest, and continued to pile on the scores. The Blue Streaks added goals added goals in the 12th and 16th minutes to lead 3-0.
"For the first 15-20 minutes, they put us under tremendous pressure," said Lewis. "They put us under more pressure that any team, including Ohio Northern, we've faced this season. It is very heartbreaking."
Sophomore Erik Hammar started the Quakers on the comeback trail in the 36th minute. It was his first goal since the Kiwanis Classic in the second week of the season. The game stayed 3-1 at halftime, but WC didn't let the break in action disrupt stall the momentum.
"Once we got our first goal, we knew we had a chance," said Lewis.
Junior Henrik Hornaess has been dangerous serving on set pieces all season long, and Friday his prowess came up huge in the second half. First, it enabled sophomore Jeff Graham to score the second goal of the game. Then, with four minutes remaining in the game Hornaess scored the equalizer.