2008 Woodie Awards
Men's Soccer: Season update
UMass starts season at 1-1 after winning OT thriller
Scott Feldman, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 9/3/08 Section: Sports
BOSTON - The Massachusetts men's Soccer team was down 2-1 on the road to Boston University with 10 seconds left on the clock. Over 5,000 fans were on their feet screaming as the clock wound down, all but assured of a victory. Suddenly there was a gasp, silence and then the sound of 5,000 people groaning in unison.
UMass (1-1) sent the game into overtime with three seconds left on the clock, on Prince Ofosu's second goal of the game.
The game-tying goal was scored off a cross from the right flank into the box. There was a large scrum in front of the goal then suddenly the ball caromed off Ofosu and into the net.
"I don't really know what happened, [Mike DeSantis] hit it and I was just running, I felt the ball go off of me, I turned around and it was in the back of the net," Ofosu said.
The Minutemen started celebrating immediately, thrilled that they had been given a chance to win a game that was all but over.
The first overtime was closely fought with both teams, getting chances, but neither team breaking through. The crowd braced for more of the same when the second overtime started, but sophomore midfielder Ben Arikian made sure to put it away quickly, setting the Maroon and White's score at a winning 3-2.
On the drop-off, he took the ball himself, and launched a shot having barely crossed midfield. The ball took an awkward bounce off a defender, past the goalkeeper and into the net, ending the game on a golden goal eight seconds into the second overtime.
"I was looking to take the shot at first and then I went to just kick it into the corner, then [the defenseman] jumped up," said Arikian. "I took him and saw the goalie was a little bit off his line. I took the shot and it deflected off one of the defenders and luckily it went into the side netting."
It was a shockingly abrupt end to a hard-fought game that saw both teams creating numerous scoring chances. BU managed 26 shots, 13 on goal, while UMass had 17 shots with nine on goal.
UMass (1-1) sent the game into overtime with three seconds left on the clock, on Prince Ofosu's second goal of the game.
The game-tying goal was scored off a cross from the right flank into the box. There was a large scrum in front of the goal then suddenly the ball caromed off Ofosu and into the net.
"I don't really know what happened, [Mike DeSantis] hit it and I was just running, I felt the ball go off of me, I turned around and it was in the back of the net," Ofosu said.
The Minutemen started celebrating immediately, thrilled that they had been given a chance to win a game that was all but over.
The first overtime was closely fought with both teams, getting chances, but neither team breaking through. The crowd braced for more of the same when the second overtime started, but sophomore midfielder Ben Arikian made sure to put it away quickly, setting the Maroon and White's score at a winning 3-2.
On the drop-off, he took the ball himself, and launched a shot having barely crossed midfield. The ball took an awkward bounce off a defender, past the goalkeeper and into the net, ending the game on a golden goal eight seconds into the second overtime.
"I was looking to take the shot at first and then I went to just kick it into the corner, then [the defenseman] jumped up," said Arikian. "I took him and saw the goalie was a little bit off his line. I took the shot and it deflected off one of the defenders and luckily it went into the side netting."
It was a shockingly abrupt end to a hard-fought game that saw both teams creating numerous scoring chances. BU managed 26 shots, 13 on goal, while UMass had 17 shots with nine on goal.
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