Midway, Ky. – The Midway University men's soccer team began post-season play on Saturday afternoon when they hosted Point Park (Pa.) in the River States Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinals at the Midway Soccer Field.
It looked as though the game was destined for overtime, but senior captain, Joe Jessop came to the rescue scoring a goal with two seconds remaining giving Midway the 1-0 victory over the Pioneers.
The Pioneers (9-9-1) had cleared the ball out on defense, but the ball made its way to the feet of Jessop. The Lincoln, England native one-timed it with just the right pace from about 30 yards out as he watched the ball fly into the upper-90 and into the back of the net giving the Eagles (10-7-1) the 1-0 victory.
The game was eerily similar to when the two teams previously met on October 6. The Eagles went on to win that game after Max Bristow (Exeter, England) scored a golden goal in the 93rd minute.
For the match, the Eagles held a 9-8 advantage in shots, including a 3-2 upper hand in shots on goal.
Each team would have their chances throughout the game, but they were few and far between as it was a physical defensive battle throughout the match. There were a total of eight cards handed out in the match as six of the eight were against the Pioneers.
The Eagles best chance to score in the opening stanza was also off the foot of Jessop in the 38th minute. Jessop took a free kick from the corner of the 18-yard box and it looked as though it was destined for the back of the net, but the ball bounced off the crossbar and out of play.
Neither team would score in the first half as the game would move to intermission deadlocked at zero. In that first half, the Eagles held a 4-3 advantage in shots, including a 1-0 advantage in shots on goal.
The second half featured many tense moments, but each team's goalkeeper stood tall to keep the game scoreless. Fireworks would begin to fly in the 79th minute when the Pioneers were called for three cards, including a red card as they were forced to play a man down for the final 10 minutes and change.
The one man advantage would finally pay dividends for the Eagles late in the game in the 89th minute. Joe Jessop would come to the rescue as he netted the game winning goal with two seconds remaining.
Picking up the victory in goal for the Eagles was junior goalkeeper, Christian Neira. The Santiago, Chile native collected his fifth shutout of the season playing all 90 minutes in goal while making two saves.
With the win, the Eagles will move to the River States Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Semifinals where they will travel to West Virginia Tech on Wednesday, November 9.
