Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Belmont University men's soccer team picked up a hardfought, 2-1 victory over Florida Atlantic Sunday afternoon, as a golden goal by Jack Driscoll (New Albany, Ohio) in the 93rd minute propelled the Bruins to their first win of the season.
90 minutes weren't enough to establish a victor, but just over three minutes into the overtime session the freshman Driscoll found himself in the right place at the right time and cashed in for the game-ending score. After an FAU foul on the left side of the 18', Eli Crognale (Gahanna, Ohio) played a nice cross into the box where he found Dan Brown (Franklin, Tenn.), who nearly found the back of the net on a header. The Owl netminder, Daniel Ragoo, stopped the chance only to see Driscoll come forward to knock it in. After the upperclassmen led the way Friday evening, it was the young bucks, Driscoll and Dennis Kluba (St. Louis, Mo.) who provided the lift on Sunday.
"We did what we needed to do. We scored a very timely goal at the end," said Head Coach Bryan Green. "I'm excited for Jack Driscoll to get redemption for a goal he missed earlier."
Driscoll had his eyes on a goal in the 73rd minute, but saw his attempt sail wide of the goal from close range.
FAU opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when Niko Gomez capitalized on a fortuitous bounce off a rebound in the front of the net. After Mertcan Akar (Westphalia, Germany) made a strong diving save off of a shot attempt from the right side from Jason Fitzgerald, Gomez moved forward to corral the loose ball and then pushed it past Akar, who was scrambling back into position. In a similar fashion to Friday night's match, Belmont wasn't at all rattled facing a deficit. It didn't waste any time mounting a rebuttal. Not a minute later, the Bruins equalized, as Kluba made the most of his penality kick chance with a low-lining shot that found the back left corner of the goal. Kluba's PK was made possible after Stephen Bailey (Nashville, Tenn.) drew a foul inside the box.
The Owls held a 20-16 advantage in terms of shots, a 7-5 edge on cornerkick and posted seven shots on goal compared to Belmont's six, but the Bruins held the ultimate edge on the scoreboard. The teams went back and forth, exchanging blows all match, but it was Belmont who had the final say.
"We were certainly struggling at times, I think FAU did a great job of moving the ball and maintaining possession and it really made us struggle. As I told the guys at halftime, when were in our defensive shape and organized we are very difficult to break down," added Green. "Mertcan came up huge a couple times to help us out, but we stayed solid defensively and stayed in it."
Akar was sensational for the match, picking up six saves while facing immense pressure from the Owl attackers. The rookie keeper was a force to be reckoned with in the first half as he picked up four saves and faced 10 shots.
"He (Mertcan Akar) was fantastic. He was a big part of our building from the back on Friday, today we didn't really have the legs to do it, so he really came up even bigger with some saves," said Green. "He's been tremendous in some of the things that don't show up on the box score, the coming out and picking up through balls and knocking away crosses that otherwise would be dangerous. He's been great at everything."
After a valiant comeback effort on Friday, the Bruins came back again in their second matchup of the weekend, but this time walked away with a win.
"This is my third year here and this is the first time we've left the first weekend undefeated. Hopefully that feeds into our confidence and we builld off of it and continue to improve all season long," added Green.
Kluba led the way with two shots on goal off the BU bench.
17 Belmont players saw action as both teams were forced to substitute early and often with sweltering temperatures at field level. The officials stopped play twice to allow water breaks for the players.
The Bruins return to action next Friday, Sept. 2 when they travel to Memphis for a showdown with the Tigers and embark on a two-game road swing.
Coach Green's Postgame Comments
