Box Score

The Malone University men's soccer team fought back from a 2-0 second-half deficit to record a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in its regular-season finale at Urbana University Monday afternoon.  Midfielder Kelvin Aquino scored off a pass from forward Josh Abend in the 85th minute to knot the score at 2-2.  Midfielder Stephen Wannah then delivered the game winner just 90 seconds into the extra period after firing a shot past the Urbana keeper from 25 yards out. 

With the exciting come-from-behind victory, Malone cemented its spot in this week's Ohio Independent Championships.  The four-team postseason event, featuring Malone, Cedarville University, Notre Dame College and Walsh University, will begin with a pair of semifinal matches this Thursday.  The championship game will then follow on Saturday.  Tournament seedings, semifinal pairings and match start times will be announced on Tuesday.

The Pioneers also improved their overall record to 10-8 with Monday's victory, marking the first 10-win season for the Malone men's soccer program since the 2001 squad put together a 12-7 campaign.

Urbana, now 6-10-1, was eliminated from OIC contention with the tough loss.

Tyler Wason staked the Blue Knights to an early 1-0 advantage after heading Ed Willoughby's free kick into the net in the 12th minute of play.  Wason then assisted on Urbana's second goal of the match in the 52nd minute by lofting a cross that teammate Joey Perkins collected and then deposited into the top of the net.

Abend cut the deficit in half in the 68th minute after being credited with an unassisted goal.  Four penalty cards were then distributed over a two-minute stretch following Abend's score, including a red card that forced the Blue Knights to play a man down over the remainder of the contest.

Aquino registered the equalizer with less than six minutes to play in regulation, giving him 11 goals on the season.

Wannah then pocketed the “golden goal” early on in the first overtime period as his strong shot deflected off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.

Urbana held a 24-13 advantage in total shots and a 12-10 edge in shots on goal over the course of the afternoon. 

Pioneer keeper Felipe Monteiro tallied 10 saves while Urbana netminder Ben Edwards stopped seven Malone shots.

Malone will learn on Tuesday which team it will face in the OIC semifinals.  The tournament's No. 1 seed will host the fourth seed while the No. 2 seed will host the third seed.  More information will be posted on www.malonepioneers.com as soon as it becomes available.