Britons Slip Past Ravens in Overtime

The Anderson University men's soccer team traveled north to take on the Britons of Albion College on Friday night in Albion, Mich. After battling back to tie the game with less than five minutes left in regulation, the Ravens fell in the first overtime period 2-1.

"It was a disappointing end to a night but I felt we grew up a bit," Coach Scott Fridley said. "The first half we kept the ball and showed the ability we have as a team. Moro-Medina came up big on a questionable penalty kick foul called.  Unfortunately, we didn't play well for 30 minutes in the second half and let them back into the game. We are getting better and finding more moments to be happy with.  We need to continue to find opportunities for our offense to find success and gain confidence. Onward to Tuesday."

Anderson (2-5) and Albion (2-1-1) both came out firing to start the game. It was an offensive battle as both teams kept taking their chance at goal, but were unable to get it on frame or the goalkeepers were able to stop it. During the first half, both sides took eight shots, with the Ravens goalkeeper Danny Moro-Medina (Goshen, Ind. / Goshen) making one save, and the Britons goalkeeper making three. Heading into halftime, the Ravens and Britons were tied 0-0.

Into the second half, the Britons were able to get on the scoreboard with a goal in the 58^th minute by Spencer Moeggenberg. From that point, it became a defensive battle with neither team getting a shot until the 77th minute. Both teams would continue to battle as the Ravens looked to tie the game up. Then, in the 86th minute, the Ravens earned a corner kick. Taking the corner was Victor Silva (Paramount, Calif. / St. Matthias Catholic) who hit a line drive towards the front post to an oncoming Grant Conklin (Lewisburg, Ohio / Troy Christian). Conklin started his run from the top of the 6-yard box on the opposite side, ran right past his defender and redirected the ball with his head right under the crossbar, past the goalkeeper's hands, to tie the game up 1-1 with 4 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the game. Anderson went on to have two more chances before the final whistle, but were unable to get the ball on frame.

It didn't take long into the first 10 minutes of overtime for the Briton to score the game winning goal. In the 93rd minute they found the back of the net off a Jason Warras shot.

Overall, the match saw a close battle between the two teams, with the Britons barely outshooting the Ravens 14-13. The Ravens were able to record four shots on goal while the Britons had three. The only saves in the match for both sides came in the first half.

Usman Kamara (Indianapolis, Ind. / Franklin Central) led the Ravens with four shots, three on goal. Victor Silva followed suit with three shots. Matthew Murray (Indianapolis, Ind. / Pike), Drew Vaughn (Beavercreek, Ohio / Beavercreek), Dalton Grubbs (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel), Caleb Opoku (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington), Caleb Gosner (Terre Haute, Ind. / Terre Haute South), and Grant Conklin each recorded one shot.

Next, the Ravens head back home to take on Berea College (1-3-1) on Tuesday. The game is set to take place at the AU Soccer Fields and the Ravens will be hosting a Faculty/Staff Appreciation day. Kick-off is set for 5PM.