Men's Soccer Battles Springfield In Double OT Draw
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | OT2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Elms (1-2-2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
Springfield (1-0-2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Elms College Men's Soccer team rallied from a deficit on two occasions to force an eventual double-overtime draw against Springfield College Tuesday night.
After back and forth play opened the contest, Springfield College drew first blood when a ball from midfield found senior Ryan Malone open in the middle of the box, where he delivered a touch pass to senior Drew Sommer, who beat Elms junior goalkeeper Christian Kostka (Oxford, Conn.) from short range, to give the Pride a 1-0 lead with 32.47 to play in the first half.
Less than three minutes later, the Blazers pulled even as junior defender Connor O'Grady (Somers, Conn.) launched a free kick into the box where junior midfielder Lorenzo Rolocut (Somers, Conn.) one-timed a volley past Springfield sophomore goalie Zach Richard. The unassisted tally knotted the contest at 1-1 with 30:22 on the clock. The Pride had an opportunity to take a lead in the 21st minute when a loose ball caught Kostka out of position leaving the net wide open, but Elms freshman midfielder James Kurkharchuk (West Springfield, Mass.) stepped up to block the attempt from Malone, maintaining the 1-1 score.
After heading into the halftime tied, the Pride regained the lead over the Blazers. With 39:32 remaining, Springfield sophomores connected as Luke Alvaro delivered a throw in deep into the Elms box, landing at the foot of Taylor Gilfoy, who spun past a defender and tucked a shot behind Kostka, staking the Pride to a 2-1 lead.
As the clock ticked under seven minutes to play, the Blazers mounted one last comeback as freshman forward Jeff Danek (Ludlow, Mass.) found freshman midfielder Mike DiPasquate (Feeding Hills, Mass.), who ripped a shot from far outside the box into the back of the net, to even the tilt at 2-2. Neither team could find the golden goal during the bonus periods, resulting in the double-overtime draw.
The Blazers and the Pride were even in shots with 16 apiece. Kostka made a game-high seven saves for Elms, while Richard and sophomore Billy Schmid combined for four stops for Springfield.
The Blazers move to 1-2-2 on the season, while Springfield sits at 1-0-2 overall. Elms will return to the pitch at New England College on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Don Melander Field.
ELMS SOCCER
