WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Freshman
Dylan Mayanja (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill) fired home the game-winning goal in double overtime to help the Washington & Jefferson men's soccer team beat Grove City 2-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals at Alexandre Stadium.
The win advances the Presidents to Saturday night's championship match at Alexandre Stadium. W&J will host No. 2 seed Geneva College, who earned a victory over Westminster on penalty kicks after a double overtime draw Wednesday evening. Saturday's title tilt will kick off at 7 p.m.
The W&J and Geneva meeting will be the first-ever between the two schools in PAC Tournament play. The Presidents will be making their ninth all-time appearance in the PAC Championship match and first since 2013. The Presidents are attempting to win their first conference crown since the 2007 season.
The double overtime goal was Mayanja's team-leading 10th score of the season. The 10 goals by Mayanja is tied for the most by a PAC player in 2019.
It was Mayanja who put the Presidents on the board in the 31st minute of play. Mayanja deflected in his ninth goal of the season off a cross from junior
Jake Fetterman (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) to give the Presidents a 1-0 edge heading into halftime.
The Presidents nearly made that goal stand up for the shutout victory. However, Grove City evened the score in the final minute of regulation, as Sam Belitz collected a loose ball in the box and knocked home the equalizer.
Grove City used the momentum from the late goal in the early stages of the first overtime. Just 40 seconds into overtime, Christian Caporaso put a shot on net that sophomore goalkeeper
Samuel Miller (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) saved before the ball hit the cross bar. In the 98th minute, the Wolverines nearly recorded victory again, as this time a shot by Belitz hit the right post.
W&J regained its footing in the second overtime, as the Presidents forced the issue offensively to record all three shots of the session. Sophomore
Michael Komaniak (Oakmont, Pa./Riverview) and senior
Gary Olson (Erie, Pa./North East) each tallied a shot wide of the net.
The game-winner by Mayanja came via a rebound of a shot by freshman
Zach Bowser (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area) in the 105th minute.
As a team, W&J held advantages in shots (22-16), shots on goal (10-7) and corner kicks (8-5) in the victory.
