JAMESTOWN, N.D. – This was a tie that stings. Head coach Jason Weides went so far as to say that he would have been perfectly pleased with his team’s performance if this were a game that had ended after 89 minutes and 40 seconds. But with 16 ticks left in regulation, host Jamestown found the equalizer in a game that ended with a 1-1 draw in double overtime on Saturday (Oct. 20).
The late Jimmie goal marred what was otherwise a solid performance from the Concordia University men’s soccer team. Weides’ squad picked up one point in the conference standings and moved to 8-4-3 overall and to 4-2-3 in GPAC play.
“It’s frustrating. It’s a shame the game isn’t 89 minutes and 40 seconds because we played a really good first 89 minutes and 40 seconds,” Weides said. “They had almost zero chances to score throughout that game. Unfortunately they had one with 16 seconds left on a long throw in and they took that chance. We had really good opportunities in overtime but weren’t able to convert. I thought we performed really well throughout the game.”
Jamestown (6-7-2, 5-4-1 GPAC), a new GPAC member, managed only six shots for the entire 110 minutes. On the other hand, the Bulldogs fired 12 shots with nearly half of them coming from junior Carlos Ferrer (five). Ferrer got his team out to a rousing start with a goal less than a minute-and-a-half after kickoff. It looked like it would be a fruitful journey north, but Concordia never could put away a second goal.
That opened the door just enough for Jamestown, which entered the day averaging 1.5 goals per game. The goal that necessitated overtime was put forth by Ben Prochniak. The Bulldogs are no stranger to overtimes having now faced such circumstances five times this season (eight total overtime periods). They are 2-0-3 in those contests.
On the positive side, Concordia is unbeaten over its last five outings (3-0-2) and Saturday’s performance appeared to be a step up from recent showings.
Said Weides, “I thought we really controlled the game. It’s not that we dropped points against a poor team. Jamestown is a solid team. It’s just unfortunate we didn’t defend a throw in with 16 seconds left well enough.”
The Bulldogs peppered Jamestown with four shots during the second overtime. A Matthew Ho shot in the 103rd minute was saved by Jimmie keeper Jake Askew. Jamestown was held to one shot over the 20 minutes of overtime action.
Senior goalkeeper Jack Bennett, who has been battling injury since coming out of the win over McPherson College (Kan.) on Sept. 12, returned to the lineup. He was credited with three saves. After Ferrer, the team’s next most active attacker was Roger de la Villa, who took three shots.
As of Saturday evening, the entire GPAC scoreboard had not yet been finalized, but Concordia continues to jockey for seeding for the conference tournament. The Bulldogs still have a mathematical chance of a top four seed that would give them the right to host in the quarterfinal round. Up next is Wednesday’s trip to Fremont for a 7:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Midland (9-6, 6-2 GPAC).