Army Rallies Past Hartford In Double Overtime, 3-2

Wednesday, October 5

West Point, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Army West Point

5-6-0

Hartford

3-7-2

OT 3

OT 4

Hartford

Army

Army Rallies Past Hartford In Double Overtime, 3-2

October 06, 2011 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Oct. 5, 2011

Box Score

Army-Hartford Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Freshman Elliott McGilbra scored the game-winning goal early in the second overtime period as the Army men's soccer team rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit to defeat Hartford, 3-2, in a non-league match Wednesday evening at Clinton Field.

The Black Knights (5-6-0) trailed 2-0 at intermission, but second-half goals by junior Josh Koeppe and senior Tanner Robertson knotted the score at 2-2 following regulation.

After a scoreless first overtime period, McGilbra took a feed from sophomore T.J. Rowe near midfield, got in behind the Hartford defense and scored with a 17-yard shot in the 102nd minute. The goal, which was a strong left-footed strike that partially glanced off the left post and into the back of the net, was McGilbra's first career game-winning goal.

"We were playing great in overtime, and everyone was looking to put me in behind the defense," said McGilbra. "T.J. played me a perfect ball, and once I got it on my feet, I knew I could hit it with my left foot if I just kept dribbling and going left. It came off sweet into the upper 90. It was awesome."

Robertson's equalizing goal in the 77th minute helped Army force overtime. The co-captain intercepted a clearing attempt by Hartford near the top of the box and fired a shot from 15 yards out just past Hawks' goalkeeper Luke Citriniti and into the lower right-hand corner of the cage. The goal, which was Robertson's second of the year, was an unassisted marker.

Koeppe ignited the Black Knights' comeback early in the second half when he received a pass from freshman Tommy Jaeger off a set piece and hit a laser of a shot from just outside the 18-yard line. The score was set up by a Hartford foul just outside the penalty area. Instead of shooting towards the goal on the ensuing direct kick, Jaeger played the ball back to Koeppe, who struck a high, bending shot that found the upper 90 to the left side.

"As a coach, that sort of brings the biggest smile to your face," said Army head coach Russell Payne of his team overcoming a two-goal deficit to earn the victory. "Obviously, you hate the fact that we had to get to that point, but it is what it is. We have a lot of fight and a lot of spirit in us, and we found a way to be effective and that's great."

Payne, who is in his second season at West Point, delivered a positive message to his team at halftime.

"I went in there and was positive with them," said Payne. "We were positive about the way we ended the first half. The last 15 minutes we started to get ourselves back together again and started creating more chances. We were moving the ball more fluidly, and I told them to just keep doing it and keep believing.

"I think you could see the momentum start to shift even from the start of the (second) half. Koeppe's goal was huge. He showed great awareness to recognize the play was on and it was a fantastic, classy finish. Tanner followed up with a great individual effort. He probably had two options; one was to shoot, one was to pass. He chose to shoot, and he tucked it away. As for Elliott, that's why he's here. He has a special quality in front of the goal and he found a way tonight."

Hartford (3-7-2) built its 2-0 halftime lead by scoring twice in a span of 1 minute, 55 seconds midway through the opening stanza. David Bernhardsson opened the scoring at the 22:15 mark when he took a pass from Anthony Santaga and beat Army freshman goalkeeper John Marinelli with a shot from 15 yards out.

Less than two minutes later, Connor Yeaney made it 2-0 when he connected on a bouncing ball and unleashed a shot through traffic past Marinelli into the upper left-hand corner of the cage.

Although they trailed at halftime, the Black Knights outshot the Hawks 7-5 in the first 45 minutes. Army also enjoyed a 3-1 edge in corner kicks during the opening frame.

Army outshot Hartford 8-2 in the second half, and the Black Knights held a 17-8 edge in the match. Both teams attempted four corner kicks in the contest.

Citriniti (3-7-2) recorded five saves in the loss. Marinelli (5-6-0) was not credited with a stop, but he played a solid overall game en route to picking up his fifth victory of the season.

"This win is great," said McGilbra. "We're at five wins this season, which is a great improvement from last year already. Any time we get knocked down, we seem to find a way to bounce back. We know that we're resilient. We came back from being down 4-0 before, so we knew we could come back from being down 2-0. The main thing is to keep that momentum going and stacking up the wins."

Army resumes its Patriot League schedule on Saturday, Oct. 8, when the Black Knights travel to Washington, D.C., to face conference rival American University. Kickoff for the match is set for 1 p.m.

Match Notes: Army improves to 1-1-0 all-time versus Hartford ... the Black Knights, who have won two straight home games, improve to 3-5-0 at Clinton Field this season ... Army is 2-0-0 in overtime games this year ... the Black Knights matched their season high with eight shots on goal versus Hartford ... Army's 14 goals scored through 11 games equals last season's output in 17 contests ... the Black Knights have scored multiple goals in four games this season, marking the first time they've done that since 2008 ... McGilbra's goal was his second of the season ... Koeppe now leads Army with three goals and seven points ... Jaeger's assist was his third of the year ... all three of his assists have come off of set pieces ... Rowe's assist was his first point of the season ... Army wore its all-white uniforms tonight with white jerseys, white shorts and white socks.