AMHERST, Mass. - The No. 8 Messiah men's soccer team saw their season come to a close in overtime on Saturday afternoon against No. 12 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by a 3-2 final. The Falcons trailed 1-0 at the half, before tallying twice in a two-minute span to take a 2-1 advantage. Lucas Kokolios and Ben Lefever found the back of the net for the Falcons.
 
The Engineers tied the match in the 60th minute with a penalty kick goal and despite late pressure from the Falcons (17 second-half shots) the game moved to overtime. Just four minutes into the extra period, Austin Betterly was on the end of a Dylan Confair cross in the 95th minute to claim a golden goal, 3-2 victory.
 
Messiah outshot the Engineers 28-19 in the match, sending 11 shots on frame against six from RPI.
 
The Falcons wrap-up their season with an overall record of 18-3-2.
 
Early Chances
Messiah had a handful of early chances, with Luke Groothoff missing wide in the fifth minute before sending a dangerous ball over the bar in the 13th minute. Groothoff's attempt in the 13th minute came after he took a quick step to his right to gain space at the top of the box. His attempt sailed just inches high of the bar.
 
Just a few minutes later, Micah Fitz had one of Messiah's many opportunities down the right side. Fitz carried possession as he raced down the right sideline. As he hustled down the sideline, Fitz gained an angle on his defender and blasted a shot from just inside the box. His attempt went just wide of the left post.
 
In the 34th minute, RPI had a look at goal. Off a corner kick, the Engineers nearly capitalized for the first goal of the contest. The corner was delivered into the box and the volley was sent wide of the frame. RPI engineered another look at goal in the 29th minute when a blast from Josh Gaudiano was sent just outside the frame on the right side.
 
RPI Connects
Off a corner kick in the 37th minute the Engineers found the first tally of the game. After an initial shot from Trevor Bisson was deflected, RPI's Joe Di Miceli tapped a pass back to Bisson for a second crack at goal. Bisson's second attempt snuck inside the right post for a 1-0 RPI lead with less than nine minutes remaining in the half.
 
Messiah Counters
The RPI lead held into the early portion of the second half when the Falcons countered with back-to-back goals in a two-minute span. After three-straight shots from Kokolios, Groothoff, and Lefever in the first six minutes of the period, Messiah found the back of the net off a corner kick from Kokolios in the 54th minute. Messiah earned a corner kick on the right side and Kokolios took the attempt, sending the delivery into the middle of the goal mouth. The RPI keeper jumped to punch the ball away, but the curving delivery hit the goalie's hands and redirected into the back of the net for the Messiah equalizer.
 
The celebration on the Messiah sideline had just died down when Ben Lefever gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead in the 56th minute. Luke Groothoff sprung Lefever free down the right sideline. After Lefever got behind the RPI defense, he unleashed a right-footed laser to the left post that gave Messiah the 2-1 lead.
 
Penalty Kick Equalizer
Messiah's 2-1 advantage held for just over four minutes. In the 60th minute, the Engineers carried the ball into the left-side of the box, but the Falcons were whistled for a push in the back. The foul gave RPI a penalty kick that Josh Gaudiano converted with a shot to the right-side that tied the game at 2-2.
 
Over the final 30 minutes of regulation, Messiah recorded 11 shots with a few extremely dangerous opportunities. In the 67th minute, Matt McDonald ripped a shot from just outside the box toward the left-side of the goal mouth. RPI's keeper Luke Brezek made a diving, full-extension stop to deflect the ball wide of the post.
 
Seven minutes later, in the 74th minute, it appeared that Darryl Daniels had a clear path to goal, but RPI's defense recovered just in time to tackle the ball away from Daniels just as he was shooting.
 
During this final half hour, RPI recorded just five shots, putting two on frame. Nate Flanders made a pair of saves in the final stretch of regulation, turning shots away in the 62nd and 82nd minutes.
 
RPI's Golden Goal
After 90 minutes of play, Messiah and RPI were deadlocked at 2-2. In the golden goal overtime period, RPI took the first shot, sending one high off the foot of Josh Gaudiano in the 92nd minute. Just two minutes later, RPI earned a free kick right around the midfield stripe. The delivery was sent into the corner. The chipped cross was sent into traffic in the box. An initial header attempt was missed by RPI, but Austin Betterly was in the right place at the right time as the cross hit his knee and trickled into the back of the net.
 
The goal gave the Engineers the overtime victory by a 3-2 final and advanced RPI into the Elite Eight tomorrow against No. 1 Amherst.
 
Four Great Years
The 3-2 overtime loss marks the end of the career for Messiah's senior class. The seven-member class finish their career with an overall record of 80-7-8 across their four years (.884 winning percentage). They were key contributors on the 2017 National Championship team while advancing the Sweet 16 twice (2016, 2019) and Elite Eight once (2018). In the last four seasons, Messiah also claimed three MAC Commonwealth Championships in 2016, 2018, and 2019.