Men's Soccer Takes Down Hood in Double OT

Sept. 11 – TOWSON, Md. – The Goucher College men's soccer team continued their flair for the dramatic as the Gophers used a double-overtime goal from senior Andrew Marcantonio to defeat Hood College, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon.

The game-winning goal came just over one minute into the second overtime period as the Gophers earned a corner kick. Senior Evan Phillips found Marcantonio, who headed the ball past the Blazers' goal keeper to give the Gophers the win. The goal marked the first of the season and fourth in the career of the senior forward.

"I thought the entire team played with a ton of heart," commented head coach Bryan Laut, who has led his team to the best starting record since the 2013 campaign. "Being our third overtime game in the last eight days, we were just looking for ways to be successful. We played a great team today and finished on top."

Things didn't start off in the Gophers' favor, as the Blazers, who came into the game as the Middle Atlantic Conference's top-scoring team, tallied the first goal in the 21^st minute. The score came on a long run from Clay Smith, who dribbled past a pair of defenders to open the scoring.

Eight minutes later, freshman Brandon Cohen found the answer. Taking advantage of a misplayed ball by the Hood defense, Cohen won a foot race to gain possession. He then made a run for the net, shooting the ball past the keeper into the lower left corner to tie the game at 1-1 in the 29^th minute.

Neither team could find the back of the net through the rest of the half as they went into the break stalemated at 1-1.

Hood College controlled the possession in the opening stanza, outshooting the Gophers by a margin of 14-5. However, sophomore Daniel Hendry was up to the challenge, making seven saves to keep the game tightly contested.

Despite giving up the first nine shots of the second half, Hendry continued to be vigilant in the net, stonewalling the Blazers at every turn until the Gophers got their first chance of the stanza.

On a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box, Marcantonio crossed a ball into traffic which found the foot of Mario Murcia. The sophomore midfielder then placed the deflection into the goal to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead.

Just 30 seconds later, Hood had the answer, using a give-and-go to get an open shot for their leading scorer, Drew Demich. Demich was then able to beat Hendry in the top right corner to knot the game. The tally marked his seventh of the year.

Five more shots for Hood and one extra for the Gophers were taken in the remainder of the regulation period, but none found success, and Goucher went into OT for the third time this season.

Hendry remained poised throughout the overtime periods, making three saves in the first in order to force double OT, where Marcantonio earned the Gophers the victory.

Overall, Hendry had his best outing as a Gopher, making a career-high 19 saves in the win. His total was just three shy of the single-game high of 22 set by Ian Kaplan in 1993 against Mary Washington.

"Since Dan came here as a freshman he has been one of the top players for us," remarked Coach Laut of his keeper. "He is capable of making some extraordinary saves that have allowed us to have success over the past two seasons."

Offensively, Marcantonio finished the day with a trio of points, his first of the season, totaling an assist and the game-winning goal. Murcia also finished with his first-career goal, while Cohen added his fourth of the year.

Goucher, who remains undefeated at 3-0-2, will now face a stiff test with five-consecutive road games throughout the remainder of September. Their first comes on Wednesday, September 14, at Dickinson College. The matchup with the Red Devils is slated for 6:00 PM.