The men’s soccer team pulled out a 4-3 overtime win over the Covenant College Scots on Friday night. The Eagles now sit at 8-5-2 on the season.
It was the Eagles’ last home game of the year, and their seniors’ final game at the Woodruff P.E. Center of their careers.
“We all love our seniors and we wanted to win for them,” sophomore forward Dylan Price said.
It was a back-and-forth affair for the Eagles and Scots all night, with four different lead changes throughout its 90-plus-minute entirety. Covenant senior forward Tyler Morrison scored first in the 12th minute of play, knocking in a shot that deflected off Eagles freshman goalkeeper Abe Hannigan and into the goal.
The Eagles struck back quickly with a goal from senior defender David Garofalo just three minutes later.
Sophomore defender Jeffrey Cochran was credited with the assist, sending a pass across the field, which Garofalo then deposited in the net with ease.
Garofalo’s goal was his first of the season, launching himself to fourth on the team with 10 points.
Morrison struck again for the Scots in the 31st minute, when he came up with possession of sophomore defender Roy Anderson’s deflected throw in and knocked another into the net for a 2-1 lead.
Once again, Emory answered quickly with an equalizer goal. In the 37th minute of play, Eagles freshman forward Sebastian Hardington took control of a punt from Hannigan. Hardington then passed the ball ahead to junior forward Andrew Jones, who tied the game at two apiece with his fourth goal of the season.
Both Hardington and Hannigan earned their first assists of their college careers on the play.
The second half featured even more seesaw play for the two squads, as Emory jumped out to a decisive 3-2 lead in the 74th minute on sophomore midfielder Michael Rheaume’s first collegiate goal.
But Emory’s lead was short-lived as Covenant responded with another goal from Morris in the 87th minute of play.
The game had no shortage of drama–Rheaume’s goal narrowly made it into the net after ricocheting off the crossbar, and Morris’ goal, which completed a hat trick, came with less than three minutes to play in regulation.
The Eagles finally put the game away in the 96th minute when Price headered a crossing pass from Cochran into the Scots’ goal to make it a final score if 4-3.
It was Cochran’s second assist of the game and fourth of the season, matching his career high.
Price, who now leads the Eagles with 11 goals and 25 points, is no stranger to game-winning scores. Friday’s game-winner marked his sixth of the season, one shy of the school record, as well as his third overtime goal on the year.
The Eagles, too, are becoming accustomed to tight games. Emory is now 2-0-1 in its last three overtime matches.
Price noted that the Eagles’ experience in these games helped them to pull out the victory on Friday.
“We benefitted from our past experiences and we were able to stay composed,” Price said.
Price has consistently played a large role in these victories. The Eagles are 8-0-0 this season in games where he has scored a goal.
It was an evenly matched game even in the statbook. The Eagles outshot the Scots by a margin of just 19-16, which included a 10-6 edge in shots on goal.
Hannigan started in goal for Emory, making three saves on the night and improved to 6-2-1 on the season with the win.
The win marked both the last home game of the season for the Eagles and the last nonconference game. Emory went 5-2-2 at home this season and is currently sitting at 2-1-1 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play, good for a four-way tie for first place.
The three remaining games of the season will have a large part in deciding whether or not the team reaches their goal of a UAA title, with each matchup coming on the road against one of the UAA co-leaders–Brandeis University, New York University, and Carnegie Mellon University.
“This is the most important part of the season,” Price said, echoing his coaches and teammates’ sentiment from before the Eagles’ first game. “We need to make sure that we play smart, work hard and get results.”
The first of the matches is at Brandeis, on Friday, October 26th at 6:30 p.m.
– By Ryan Smith
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