FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Soccer team hosted Belmont Abbey College tonight in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Playoffs. The Lions took the early lead with a goal in the 8
th minute. The Crusaders responded, scoring the equalizer in the 65
th minute, taking the lead in the 77
th to go up 2-1. The Lions answered with five minutes to play in regulation to tie things up 2-2 to force overtime. After two overtime periods, the Lions earned the win in penalty kicks, outscoring the Crusaders 8-7 in the final overtime period, with
Edouard Laberge coming up with a fantastic save to send the Lions to the quarterfinals!
The Lions took an early lead on a goal by Leon van Nguyen at the 8:32 mark to give the Lions the 1-0 advantage. In the first half, the Crusaders outshot the Lions 8-3, with 4 shots on goal. Emmanuel goalkeeper,
Edouard Laberge collected 4 saves in the first half to keep the Crusaders off the board, keeping the score 1-0 Lions heading into halftime.
The Crusaders responded well, going on a 2-0 scoring run to start the 2
nd half to take a 2-1 lead. The Crusaders outshot the Lions 11-1 in the half, with 6 shots on goal. With five minutes to play in regulation, freshman,
Eli Cooling scored the equalizer off an assist by Laberge to send the game to overtime.
In the first overtime period, the Crusaders controlled the pace, outshooting the Lions 4-0 with a shot on goal. Laberge picked up a save to keep the score knotted at 2-2, forcing a second overtime.
The Lions were on the offensive in the 2
nd overtime period, outshooting the Crusaders 1-0, but the score remained tied after 110 minutes of play which forced a shootout.
In the shootout, the Lions outscored the Crusaders 8-7, with Laberge picking up two saves to send the Lions to the quarterfinals.
SHOOTOUT GOALS SCORED BY:
Maddox Driver
Jacob Monroy
Alex Walker
Alex Cook
Devin Brown
Dylan Persinger
Dom Chiuchiarelli
Leon Van Nguyen
Next up, the Lions will travel to Spartanburg, SC to face 3
rd seed, Converse University on Saturday at 2PM.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
