After two overtimes and 109 minutes of effort, the men’s soccer team fell to the hands of non-conference opponent Denison in a 3-2 thriller Wednesday.
Denison struck first blood in the first half, but the Crusaders leveled the score just 16 seconds into the second half.
The game stayed at a 1-1 deadlock until a Denison goal put the Crusaders down 2-1 in the 76th minute.
The drama began in the 88th minute, when Capital was awarded a penalty kick, and sophomore R.G. Florey evened the score at 2-2, sending the game into overtime.
After a scoreless extra period, the Crusaders’ hearts were ripped out in the 109th minute, when Blake Miller finished a cross for the game-winning goal.
The loss dropped the team to 1-2 on the year. The team plays their next match at Trine University in Indiana Friday.
Alan Yost, Capital University’s Interim Head Men’s Soccer Coach is in his second year at Capital, and is in his first year as the interim head men’s coach.
Last season, he was the assistant coach and head junior varsity coach.
“As a new coach, I want to set the tone and change the mentality to be a blue collar mentality, meaning we need to work hard every game and we have to fight hard every game,” Yost said.
Yost discussed the first game of the season, against Wittenberg University, where the Crusaders lost 0-1.
“Our first game we were off. We struggled to control our emotions and that caused us to work without a purpose,” Yost said.
The Crusaders could not carry the momentum of their 5-0 victory against Emory and Henry over the weekend into Wednesday’s match.
“We came out and played very well under high pressure, and caused our opponents to make mistakes,” Yost said.
When discussing the team’s lost against Denison, Yost explained the importance of the team working harder to finish and capitalize on their opportunities within the game.
“We have to push the pace and if we work hard every game, we will get results,” Yost said.
afloor@capital.edu
