Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Bryan Beats Covenant!

Red Sea floods field after walk-off score; wounded Scots make long haul back up Lookout Mountain

Overtime Thriller Hailed Instant Classic by Resident Director (who also happened to write the story that appears below)

Bryan College sophomore Mano Silva (above in Bryan's 6-1 loss to Covenant in 2004) scored with 36 seconds remaining in regulation Tuesday night to force an overtime period with rival Covenant College. Silva earned an assist on the winning goal scored by Sammy Ortiz with 32 seconds left in the extra period. My note: I like Mano. And not just because he helped all Bryan students past and present gain bragging rights for the next year, but also because he's a swell Brasilian that I have Sunday lunch with at the Lestmann's each week. Alright. Enough with the editorializing. Now I've got to get serious and be objective.

By Matt Williams

Herald-News Sports Editor

Major collegiate rivalries like Tennessee-Florida and Duke-North Carolina may steal the national spotlight, but the best place to see the intensity of a small college rivalry at its finest just may have been in Dayton Tuesday night.

The Bryan College men’s soccer team squared off against archrival Covenant College, looking to redeem themselves from a 6-1 loss last year on Lookout Mountain, and came away with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in front of hundreds of students from both schools.

Sophomore Sammy Ortiz gave the Lions the walk-off finisher after gathering the rebound from fellow sophomore Mano Silva’s deflected shot with 32 seconds remaining in the extra period. A quick step by Silva created a hot shot that was saved by Covenant freshman keeper Brent Hull’s diving stop, but Ortiz pounded a shot to the back of the net before Hull could get back to his feet and ended the marathon meeting.

Ortiz’s second goal of the night would have never happened without the last-second heroics of Silva in regulation though. Silva, shadowed my multiple Scots throughout the night, shook his defender momentarily 30 feet outside the goal and squeaked the equalizing shot past Hull with 36 seconds remaining in regulation to force the 10-minute overtime period.

The two teams fought to a scoreless tie after the first half, but the lack of scoring didn’t mean the game was short on action. Both teams found themselves shuffling lineups early after injuries ended the night early for a pair of key starters. Covenant senior keeper Austin Branson came down hard in the box after going up for a save on a corner kick just four minutes into the contest, and Bryan sophomore forward Scott Davidson was carried off the field less than 10 minutes later after suffering a leg injury on a play at the goal. Davidson nearly put the Lions ahead on the play, heading a deflected shot into the crossbar, but the Scots cleared the ball and ended the threat.

Bryan controlled the game’s first 20 minutes and had a golden opportunity to take the lead on a breakaway by senior Jorge Vallejo at the 27-minute mark, but Vallejo’s shot sailed wide left. The Scots seemed to gain momentum after the missed opportunity and forced the Lions to go on the defensive until halftime.

Covenant continued its attack in the early moments of the second half, catching the Lions napping, and scored 14 seconds into the half on a goal by freshman Zach Terrell. Senior forward Ryan Chico crossed the ball from the right wing to Terrell, who hammered home the goal after Bryan senior keeper Jonathan Sutton deflected the shot in with a diving save attempt.

The score seemed to shock the Lions but didn’t wake them up, because the Scots struck again moments later. Sophomore David Stair took a feed from Chico and blasted a second goal past Sutton at the 41:28-mark to give Covenant a 2-0 lead.

Bryan looked sluggish through the next 15 minutes, but senior Thiago Goncalves and Ortiz began to create some opportunities near the 26-minute mark and broke the shutout with 24:48 left to play. Goncalves boomed a long cross shot from the left wing on the play, and Ortiz flew in from the right wing for the quick score into the corner of the goal.

The score ignited both the Bryan team and student body, but Covenant continued its own assault at the other end against Sutton and seemed to have things in hand with two minutes left. A senior-led lineup of Lions had other thoughts though, and a shot by Silva with 1:30 left started the rally. Hull made a remarkable save to stop Silva’s shot but couldn’t stop the Bryan sophomore’s next attempt 60 seconds later.

Sutton saved a shot from Stair early in overtime on a breakaway, but the Lions controlled the most of the extra period. Bryan senior Craig Biddy and freshman Nathan McCown were each denied by Hull late in the game, but the freshman keeper’s impromptu heroics were ended by Ortiz.

The Lion win continues the yearly parity in the long-time rivalry of Appalachian Athletic Conference schools. Covenant embarrassed the Lions last season on Lookout Mountain by a 6-1 score, but the Lions claimed a 2-0 shutout victory in 2003 when the team began the year with 15 straight wins.

Bryan improves to 5-3-1 (2-1) on the year with the win; Covenant falls to 3-5 (1-3).

Check back tomorrow for a shot or two from tonight's game.