WASHINGTON, Pa. – Needing a win in Saturday's home finale to keep its hopes alive for a berth in the upcoming Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament, the Washington & Jefferson College men's soccer team turned to a veteran leader to provide perhaps one of the more improbable endings in program history. Senior defender
Jacob Lee (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School) netted his first collegiate goal as time expired to propel the Presidents to a dramatic 2-1 win over Bethany on Senior Day.
Lee, a mainstay on the defensive end throughout his four-year career, delivered on the offensive end when called up in the waning moments Saturday. A frantic finish set the stage for Lee's game winner. A throw in by
Cole Young (Doylestown, Pa. Central Bucks West) towards the box with just six seconds to play was touched forward by
Kevin Monge (Silver Spring, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) where a Bison player shouldered it back into the direction of Lee. The senior then sized up the ball in the air as it approached him. Lee then rifled the ball towards the left corner of the goal with his right boot. A diving attempt by the Bison goalkeeper was unsuccessful as his touch was unable to deny Lee from a moment that will last a lifetime.
"I couldn't believe it," Lee said of his game-winning goal. "We needed this win. Today was a must win for our team. This was the last home game I was going to play here and there was no way I was going to go down without a fight."
The goal set off a raucous celebration as the Presidents sprinted on the field raced towards the bleachers where they were met by their teammates who poured out onto the field from the bench.
The two teams played through a physical and rugged 90 minutes. Neither team scored in the first half. The Bison were finally able to strike first with an unassisted goal by Taivier Stewart in the 79th minute of play. W&J used relentless effort to gain a corner kick opportunity in the 86th minute.
Jimmy Gogol (Westminster, Md./Westminster) was able to head in a shot into the right corner of the net after a perfect set up by
Ethan Bowser's (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) corner kick.
Bethany was forced to play the final 28-plus minutes with 10 players following a red card on Paul Sanyang. W&J held a 17-13 advantages in shots and a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. W&J had a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.
The win improves W&J to 3-2-4 in Presidents' Athletic Conference play and 4-6-5 overall. The victory keeps the Presidents hopes alive for qualification into the upcoming Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament. W&J will enter the season finale at Grove City with 13 points. The Presidents currently sit in sixth place in the PAC standings. The top seed teams qualify for the PAC Tournament, which begins on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Bethany, who also entered the day in the hunt for a tournament spot, drops to 3-4-2 in league play and 4-9-2 overall. The Bison currently have 11 points and will need a win over Westminster and some help to obtain a berth into the PAC Tournament.
W&J heads to Grove City for its season finale on Oct. 25. The match is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Don Lyle Field.
Notes: Lee was one of seven Presidents honored prior to the contest.
Thomas Amtower (Boiling Springs, Pa. / Cumberland Valley),
Charles Ugwu (Abuja, Nigeria),
Jake Rajotte (Rocky Hill, Conn. / Rocky Hill),
McKinley Joseph (Stamford, Conn. / King School),
Chase Grinnell (Fombell, Pa. / Riverside) and
Jake Klonowski (Allison Park, Pa. / Shaler). Amtower made his first collegiate start in goal and made two saves in 27-plus minutes of action.
