DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- In no sport is it truer than in soccer that the better side doesn't always come out on top. For long stretches of the second half the Bellevue University men's soccer team dominated their counterpart Lindenwood University-Belleville but Oriol Morego rendered that moot with his 95th minute overtime game-winning goal.
The Bellevue University men's soccer team suffered a gut-wrenching defeat at the hands of Lindenwood-Belleville, 2-1 in overtime, on Tuesday evening at Hilltopper Stadium at the Seacrest Soccer Complex in NAIA Second Round action. With the win, Lindenwood-Belleville advances to tomorrow's quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
Yuri Cruz sent in a cross from the right side and Morego headed a one-timer into the back of the net for the game-winning strike to send the Lynx through to the quarterfinals.
The first half was largely played in the midfield but Lindenwood-Belleville was able to get a few opportunities. The first chance that ended up near goal came courtesy of the Lynx in the 17th minute but the attempt went over the crossbar. The first attempt on goal came in the 25th minute when Leonardo Ferri's moving shot was saved by junior goalkeeper Ben Martin.
The Lynx looked especially dangerous late in the opening half. Lindenwood-Belleville had numbers in the attacking end but three outstanding tackles by junior Lee Woolmore led to a Bellevue counter opportunity. A long ball got in behind the Lynx defense but the Bruins were whistled for offsides. A minute later, Lindenwood-Belleville looked primed to score but Leonardo Nakama's shot to an empty net was saved by senior skipper Jamie Henderson.
Martin picked up a free ball in the box in the waning seconds of the first half and the game headed into intermission scoreless. The Lynx out-shot the Bruins 6-2 in the opening 45 minutes, including a 2-0 edge in shots on goal. But perhaps the more telling first half stat was the number of offensive end passes completed. Lindenwood-Belleville held a nearly 3:1 edge in that area, completing 46 offensive end passes, compared to 18 for Bellevue. Despite the advantages in those areas the BU defense held strong and limited LU-Belleville's scoring opportunities.
The second half saw a near 180 degree turn in play with Bellevue dominating possession, especially in the offensive end, while the Lynx had to rely on sporadic counterattacking opportunities. Bellevue's halftime adjustments really paid off as the hour mark approached with Lindenwood-Belleville getting not even crumbs for offensive chances.
Bellevue's first best-chance came in the 63rd minute when senior Alan Carr won a corner for the Bruins after a well taken free kick forced the keeper to punch the ball out over the end line. Carr then took the corner and found Henderson's head in the box but his header attempt found its way over the crossbar and out of harm's way.
A key play came in the 67th minute when senior Tobias Maertzke made a terrific move in the 18-yard box and got hauled down from behind but the referee let play continue, deciding there was no foul on the play.
Lindenwood-Belleville had another chance in the 75th minute but this time it was senior Kenan Sahuric that came up with a blocked shot to keep the game scoreless. Into the final 10 minutes of regulation it appeared that the Bruins' second half dominance had worn the Lynx down, especially their defenders.
It was the Bruin back line that wavered first, however. Guillermo Chinchilla had an opportunity to strike but his first shot resulted in an athletic save by Martin. Unfortunately for BU the rebound came right to Chinchilla's feet and he blasted a second effort past Martin for a 1-0 lead in the 89th minute. It seemed as though the glass slipper in Bellevue's Cinderella run had reverted to sand on a warm night by the beach.
After the Lynx took the lead, Bruin head coach Matt Briggs opted for a tactical change, playing with just three defenders. He moved Maertzke into his more familiar attacking position and put the 6-3 Woolmore up front as a target man. The move paid off as both drew the attention of the Lynx defenders on the game-tying goal in the 89th minute. Junior JT Cronin made a great cutback move that opened up the opportunity for a cross into the box. The cross came at the edge of the six-yard box to sophomore Daniel Coupland who, rather than take the header himself, flicked it on to sophomore Rob Smith. Smith headed the ball down at goal where a LU-Belleville defender came sliding in to try and clear the line but his effort at a clearance clanged off the crossbar and into the back of the net to knot the match a 1-1 with just 1:36 to play.
The clock did strike midnight in overtime and the 11-passenger vans the Bruins arrived in turned back into pumpkins for the ride home.
Martin stopped three shots in goal for Bellevue who were out-shot by the Lynx 12-9 on the evening. The Bruins held a 5-0 edge in corner kicks on the evening.
Head Coach Matt Briggs:
"I'm very proud of the way our boys competed throughout the season, and especially tonight. I'm also exceptionally grateful for the effort of the seniors this season and I wish them the best of luck in their future."
Bellevue wraps up their season with an overall record of 12-4-4, their second straight season with a winning percentage of .700 or better. It is the first time they have accomplished that feat since doing so in the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
The Lynx (16-7-0) face Columbia College in tomorrow's quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. local time.
Dec. 2 Quarterfinal Schedule (all times local):
Match 1 | #1 Rio Grande (Ohio) vs. Indiana Wesleyan, 11 a.m.
Match 2 | #4 Missouri Valley vs. #12 Rocky Mountain (Mont.), 1:30 p.m.
Match 3 | #2 Davenport (Mich.) vs. #10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), 4 p.m.
Match 4 | #14 Columbia (Mo.) vs. Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), 6:30 p.m.
