VIDEO INTERVIEW - ALEX VAN DER SLUIJS
WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's soccer team snatched victory from the hands of defeat on Saturday as the Fightin' Quakers defeated the University of Mount Union 2-1 in overtime in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action from Williams Stadium.
Wilmington struck first in the game as Leon Tank found Niklas Martensson who buried his 12th goal of the season in the 23rd minute. That should would be the Quakers' only shot in the first half, and despite allow Mount Union seven shots in the first 45 minutes including one that hit the post and other that caromed off the crossbar, the hosts took the one-goal lead into halftime.
Each team took one shot in the first 18 minutes of the second half, but things would change as the Quakers were forced to play a man down after Tank was sent off via red card. The Purple Raiders, who came into the game ranked No. 13 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, outshot Wilmington 9-1 from that point and eventually equalized at the 81:30 mark as a Josh Lewis corner kick found the head of Joe Winiecki.
Mount Union continued to pressure as overtime began, and the pressure paid off at the 97:07 mark as the Purple Raiders were fouled the box earning a penalty kick. Wilmington goalkeeper Felix Maurer dove to his right and stopped the would-have-been game-winning goal from Jesse Tinney. Not a minute later, it was Wilmington's turn to attempt to win the game as Mount Union goalkeeper Zach Hlas received a yellow card for tripping a Quaker attacker. Hlas got a hand on Martensson's penalty kick, but the senior put just enough on it to give Wilmington the overtime victory.
"Soccer is crazy game," Head Coach Alex Van der Sluijs said after the game. "Our guys never gave up and believed they could win despite the circomstances [being down a man]."
The Purple Raiders outshot the Quakers 19-4 in the game including a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks. Maruer earned the victory, however, stopped four of the five shots he faced while Hlas made just one save on three shots and earned the loss.
Wilmington improves to 7-4-0 and 2-1-0 in the OAC win the victory. The Quakers head to Ohio Northern University on Wednesday evening.
