Men's Soccer squanders lead, falls to Worcester 3-2 in Overtime
Kwadwo Kusi notched a pair of goals for MCLA in the opening half, but the Trailblazers fell 3-2 to Worcester State
Worcester, MA- The MCLA Men's Soccer team led 2-0 at halftime, however the host Worcester State Lancers rallied for a come from behind 3-2 overtime victory over the Trailblazers in MASCAC action Saturday afternoon. Worcester State's Bryan Brasil scored the equalizer and the game winner just 1:18 into OT.
The Lancers earn their second straight conference victory as they improve to 4-6-1 overall and even their conference slate at 2-2. The Trailblazers fall to 2-6-2 overall and sit at 1-3 in conference play.
Trailblazer sophomore Kwadwo Kusi got things headed in the right direction early for MCLA as he tallied a pair of first half goals. The first marker came in the 14th minute when Sean Kenney sent a cross that found Kusi in the box and he converted for a 1-0 lead. He would strike again in the 29th minute, this time unassisted as his shot caromed off a Lancer defender and into the net for a 2-0 lead. MCLA would keep the cushion heading into halftime outshooting the Lancers 8-5 in the opening stanza.
The Lancers did a complete turnaround in the second half. They immediately got on the board just two minutes in to the closing half on a George Siotis goal. He converted when WSU threw the ball into the box and Bryan Brasil headed it towards Siotis for the marker slicing the lead to just 2-1.
The hosts controlled the play, but ultimately couldn't convert until the 83rd minute. Brasil would net the tying goal when Jacob Jess sent a through ball past the defense and Brasil beat Kamron Anderson to tie the game at 2-2. The game would remain that way until overtime.
In OT, Brasil didn't wait long to finish it off. Just 1:18 into the extra period, he corralled a cross from Ryan Kinsella and blasted a shot from 10 yards out that beat Anderson and ended the game.
The OT goal made a winner out of WSU keeper Jason Barrett who stopped three shots on the afternoon. Anderson would collect a pair of saves for MCLA.
The Lancers turned things around in the second half owning a commanding 14-3 shot advantage over the decisive period. They outshot MCLA 20-12 for the match.
MCLA will have a quick turnaround as they host Mount Saint Vincent on Monday at 3:30pm at Shewcraft Field.