Box Score MACON, Ga. – Despite two second-half goals, including an equalizing header by sophomore defender Case Cox in the 83rd minute, the Belmont University men's soccer team was unable to top Mercer University Saturday afternoon in double overtime on the road. The host Bears scored in the 108th minute for a 3-2 win in the Bruins' final Southern Conference match of the season at Betts Stadium in Macon, Georgia.
After falling behind by a pair of goals in the 52nd minute, Belmont (10-4-1, 4-2-1 SoCon) made a valiant comeback in the final 22 minutes of regulation.
Mercer (7-6-1, 3-1-1 SoCon) scored the opening goal in the 36th minute off a strike from midfielder Nick Wanzer to take a 1-0 lead into halftime before the two teams exchanged penalty kick goals in the second half. Senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni got the Bruins on the scoreboard in 69th minute with his third PK goal of the season, setting up Cox for the late-match equalizer.
Belmont tallied a trio of first-half shots on goal but couldn't find the back of the net before a highly-entertaining second half of play. Totaling seven corner kicks, including two in the first 45 minutes of action, the Bruins limited the Bears to two corners for the entire match and none in the first half.
With Belmont being whistled for a foul inside the 18-yard box just before the 52nd minute mark, Mercer midfielder Angel Gonzalez drilled the ball between the posts from PK distance to give the hosts the commanding lead. However, the Bruins' will would not so easily be broken. Nearly 17 minutes later, the Bears committed a foul of their own inside the penalty box, resulting in a PK for Belmont. Dagnoni lined things up and shot the ball to the back of the net to make it a one-goal match.
Following a corner kick, senior forward Ares Marlonsson found himself with the ball inside the box on the right side of the goal. He chipped in a ball to Cox, who leaped up for a header past Mercer's goalkeeper from the top of the six-yard box with just over seven-and-a-half minutes to go. Knotting up the match at two goals apiece, the score was Cox's third goal of his career.
The Bruins outshot the Bears 7-4 in the second half and entered the first overtime period with all the momentum. Keeping the ball in the attacking third of the field for the majority of the 10 minutes, Belmont had several opportunities to score but got only one shot off with two corners.
The second extra-time period saw the field reversed as Mercer kept the ball in its attacking third with four shots, three of which were on target, and two corner kicks. It would be forward Trevor Martineau who would score the game-winning goal for the Bears in the 108th minute with approximately 2:45 remaining, assisted by forward Kadeem Agard and midfielder Kevin Kim.
Both senior goalkeeper Drew Romig, the reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, and Mercer starting keeper Trevor McMullin came up with four saves. The Bruins finished with six shots on goal and the Bears seven as both squads recorded 13 total shots.
Belmont was issued three yellow cards on the day, Dagnoni in the 67th minute and Cox and senior midfielder Kyle Barks in the 90th.
Of Note
Dagnoni's PK was his fourth goal of the season and 16th of his career, moving him into sole possession of fifth place among all-time Bruins with the fourth-most goals in program history. The Milan, Italy, striker now owns 16 points this fall and 55 points for his career, which represent the second-most in school history. Cox has now either scored a goal or accounted for an assist in each of Belmont's last four matches, registering a goal in three of the Bruins' last four outings. Marlonsson's assist on Cox's goal was his second helper of the year and 10th of his career. Belmont is now 1-1-1 in three double overtime matches this season.
Up Next
The Bruins wrap up the regular season Tuesday afternoon with a non-conference match at The Summit League's Eastern Illinois. Kickoff from Lakeside Field in Charleston, Illinois, is slated for 1 p.m. Having secured no worse than a No. 4 seed in the 2021 SoCon Championship, Belmont will learn of its seeding and matchup following the end of conference play next weekend.
Follow Belmont men's soccer on social media - @BelmontMSoccer on Twitter and @belmontmsoccer on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
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