FENTON, Mo. – The men's soccer team saw its postseason match come down to the wire Thursday night as Spalding scored a late equalizer before the Panthers prevailed in a penalty kick shootout following a 1-1 draw through 110 minutes of play.
Greenville appeared poised for victory after taking a first-half lead and holding Spalding scoreless for nearly the entire match. However, the Golden Eagles found an equalizer with just 36 seconds remaining in regulation, forcing overtime.
The Panthers struck first in the 42nd minute when
Pedro Kamada finished a setup from
Izan Gonzalez Rivera. Kamada's goal at 41:31 gave Greenville a 1-0 advantage heading into halftime.
Spalding generated consistent pressure throughout the night, outshooting Greenville 33-21 and earning a 14-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Greenville goalkeeper
Miguel Valcarce Gomez kept the Panthers in front with six saves during his 97-plus minutes in goal, including a stop on a first-half penalty kick by Benit Mulume.
The Panthers nearly doubled their lead several times, particularly in the first overtime period when Gonzalez Rivera and
Richard Kerwer each put shots on target.
The third seeded Golden Eagles finally broke through in the 90th minute when Semir Siljkovic scored at 89:24 to level the match at 1-1 and send the contest to overtime.
Neither side found a winner during the two 10-minute overtime periods.
Greenville substitute goalkeeper
Dominick Messer entered late in the first overtime and made two crucial saves, including a stop on Mulume early in the second extra session.
The match moved to a penalty kick shootout, where Greenville converted all five attempts.
William Jorgenvag Collier,
Kaike Ribeiro Correia, Gonzalez Rivera,
Pablo Canola and
Richard Kerwer each scored for the Panthers. Spalding matched Greenville's first, third and fourth attempts, but Ethan Welsh's second-round miss against GU keeper
Andrew Weir proved costly as Greenville secured the shootout victory.
Kamada scored Greenville's lone goal, while Gonzalez Rivera recorded the assist. Gonzalez Rivera also created several dangerous chances and converted his penalty kick in the shootout.
Valcarce Gomez finished with six saves, Messer added two saves in relief, and Weir entered for the shootout.
The Panthers (6-9-2) will facde Webster on Saturday night at 5 p.m. in the tournament championship match.
