GOSHEN, Ind. – In their third straight overtime game, Goshen couldn't get by Huntington as the Foresters won 3-2 in the first overtime. The golden goal was scored by Austin Batey.
The Maple Leafs came out strong early on.
Very strong, and
very early on. Just a minute and 48 seconds into the game, Goshen was on the board.
Connor Wyse had a cross from the right side that connected with
Lucas Bontreger. The Leafs kept applying the pressure – taking the first six shots in the match. Huntington had their first shot nearly 27 minutes in, but Goshen had eight by the end of the half and the Foresters had just two. After that early goal, there was no more scoring for the remainder of the half and Goshen led 1-0 into halftime.
Huntington started to attack in the second half, with four shots in the first 15 minutes. It paid off in the 80
th minute when a goal by Zach Collins tied up the game. Goshen didn't wait very long to respond. Bontreger scored his second goal of the evening just four minutes later, and the Leafs regained the lead at 2-1. But then it was Huntington's turn. Not even three minutes after that goal, Pablo Garcia scored and tied it at two.
Matias da Fonseca had some late saves to prevent the Foresters from getting on the board again, and the game went to overtime.
Huntington took nine more shots in the second half than in the first. And they kept that momentum in overtime. They added three more shots – the last being a game-winning goal by Austin Batey. Huntington won in overtime, 3-2.
It was Senior Night at the Ingold Complex, and senior
Lucas Bontreger got to celebrate with two goals.
Luiz Matteus Pontes had four shots on goal and
Lucas Vilela had two.
Matias da Fonseca recorded nine saves in the net, a career-high for him. The seniors that were recognized tonight were
Denver Beck,
Lucas Bontreger,
Henrique Eichenberger,
Adhika Ezra,
Felipe Gallo,
Uriel Macias,
Christian Saleh,
Tristan Smucker,
Lucas Vilela, and
Connor Wyse.
Goshen finishes the season with a 6-9-3 record overall and 2-7-0 in the Crossroads League. The Leafs played in six overtime games and had a goal differential of -2 (27-29). A huge thank you goes out to our seniors who did their part to make the Goshen men's soccer program special!