Web extra: Men's soccer advances with overtime win

By Joe Doss-Antoun

The men's soccer team avoided an upset bid in the second round of the NCAA tournament Wednesday night by defeating the visiting Washington Huskies 3-2 in overtime at Buck Shaw Stadium. After giving up a 2-0 lead, the Broncos advanced onto the next round after sophomore Jide Ogunbiyi scored the game winner in the 95th minute.The play started after sophomore forward Brian Martin noticed Ogunbiyi towering over the defenders in the box and sent a crossing pass from the far right corner of the field. The 6-foot-4-inch Ogunbiyi leapt over the Huskies defenders and headed the game winner past the outstretched arms of the Huskies goalie. "This was definitely one of the biggest goals of my life," said Ogunbiyi. "We were trying to find someone to make a play for us and Brian was able to do that. He got the ball on the wing and played me a perfect cross and I just had an easy finish from there."? Overtime originally seemed unlikely when the Broncos came out with guns blazing, and it appeared that the 10-day layoff in between games was being used to their advantage. In the 8th minute, freshman Amaechi Igwe got free inside the box before ripping a shot at Huskies goalkeeper Rylan Hawkins. The keeper made the save, but deflected it right towards Bronco captain Peter Lowry. With the keeper off balance, Lowry got a shot on goal but was denied by the right post. Moments later, defender Jamil Roberts unloaded on a ball from 30 yards out before Hawkins knocked the ball over the crossbar for a corner kick. "We were really connecting well at the beginning of the game and that produced a lot of opportunities for us," said Igwe. Later in the 27th minute, Igwe was in position to score the Broncos' elusive first goal. After receiving a ball at the top of the box from fellow freshman Stephen McCarthy, Igwe slipped a ball underneath the diving goalie before he too was by the right post. Though the Broncos were getting their chances, their much needed spark came late in the first half when Ogunbiyi came on to replace forward Peter Lowry in the 40th minute. Just two minutes later, Ogunbiyi eluded defenders before getting the ball to an open Matt Hatzke. Hatzke dribbled the ball to the top of the box and set up senior Erik Ustruck, who snuck a ball past an attempted save for the first goal of the match. "We are a much more well-rounded team this year and we have very good players so anyone can make an impact in any given game," said Ogunbiyi. "We also have a lot of attacking players that can be dangerous in front of goal." The Broncos started the second half just the way they finished the first. Less than a minute into the half, Martin aggressively attacked a loose ball in the box. With everybody seemingly standing around, Martin stepped up and ripped a shot past a helpless Huskies' goalie and into the back of the net. Though it seemed the Broncos were in the driver's seat, the Huskies were not ready to give up. In the 70th minute, junior Steve Mohn sent a corner kick into the center of the box before defender Matt Fischer was able to kick it past Broncos' goalkeeper Joe Buttitta for the Huskies' first goal. Gaining momentum, the Huskies' quickly pushed forward for another scoring chance. In the 81st minute, Mohn curled another corner kick into the front of the goal where it skimmed off the head of the Broncos' Keith DeVey and into the back of the net. With the score knotted at 2-2, both defenses were able to fend off their opposition long enough to send the match into a sudden-death overtime. "It was definitely concerning to see our 2-0 lead slip away in the second half," said head coach Cameron Rast. "After that, I told them this is where they needed to prove what they could do." The Broncos did not hesitate to live up to their coach's challenge. With the win, the Broncos advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament and will face the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, Nov. 18. "We have been good in overtimes and big games this year so that gives us confidence going to Indiana," said Martin. "It will be a good game back there."This is the Broncos' first time advancing to the third round of the NCAA tournament since 2003, where they eventually went on to lose to Indiana in the College Cup.Contact Joe Doss-Antoun at (408) 551-1918 or jdossantoun@scu.edu.