KNOXVILLE, TN – With the remnants of Hurricane Harvey blowing through Knoxville, the Wilmington College men's soccer team fought off a long trip and windy conditions to open the season with a 2-1 double overtime victory over Covenant in the 2017 Maryville University Invitational.
"I am really proud of how (the team) responded," said Wilmington head coach Bud Lewis. "We arrived 90 minutes before game time, and we played the first 20 minutes like we traveled for seven hours."
Freshman Willie Winald (Asa, Sweden / Elof Lindalv) tallied the first goal of his career less than a minute into the second extra session for the game winner.
Senior Nils Asteberg (Ojersjo, Sweden / Porthalla Gymnasium) played a pass to Winald near midfield, and Winald connected a pass with sophomore Roman Kirschner (Opava, Czech Republic / Mendel's Grammar School). The midfielder went to work in the open space, eventually centering a pass back to the charging Winald, who deposited the golden goal into the back of the net.
Wilmington came out a little sluggish as weather hampered their traveling plans, and left the Fightin' Quakers with a little time to shake off the long ride. The Scots took advantage by taking the early lead in the 19th minute.
The Fightin' Quakers found the equalizer in the 63rd minute as junior Treshaun Pate (Cincinnati, OH/Princeton) scored off a free kick from junior Benny Spirk (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington).
In his first collegiate game in goal, senior Chris Bourque (Batavia, OH/Batavia) finished with three saves to earn the victory.
"We had some solid performances from Bourque and Tommy Logan," said Lewis.
Wilmington outshot the Scots, 17-6, as Spirk and junior Jason Altmayer (Bethel, OH/Bethel Tate) tallied three shots each. Altmayer had a chance to win the game in regulation, but slotted his shot just outside the pipes in the final 10 seconds.
The win gave Lewis his 499th career coaching win, and the Fightin' Quakers will look to go to 2-0 Saturday, facing the host Maryville University at 5 p.m.
