The Oglethorpe men's soccer team pulled off its second late victory of the weekend Sunday, using a 99th-minute golden goal from freshman midfielder Topher Marshall to beat Millsaps 3-2 in the first period of extra time. The result moves the Stormy Petrels into first place by themselves at 4-0 in SAA play. They also improve to 9-2-1 on the season overall. 

After a back-and-forth game where each team lost a one-goal lead, the Petrels found themselves in their third extra-time game of the season. With an 0-1-1 record over the previous two (a tie at home to Emory to open the season and a loss to Denison at Emory's Sonny Carter Invitational), the Petrels looked to even that record. The period began with Javier Garcia of Millsaps picking up a red card for his second yellow-card infraction of the game. That took the visiting Majors down to 10 men in the 93rd minute. Then in the 99th, Marshall ran onto a ball deflected ball in the box and hit a screaming volley that Millsaps goalkeeper Jonathan Huebbe was able to get a fingertip to. However, the ball popped up in the air behind him and dipped under the bar for the game-winning goal, setting off a wild celebration at the Oglethorpe Track and Field. It was Marshall's second goal of the season.

The Petrels fell behind 1-0 in the early-going, as Alex Bourland of the Majors ran onto a ball that was headed down by Nico Roth and put it into the back of the net in the seventh minute. However, the Petrels settled down after that and worked their way back into the game. Senior midfielder Nick Muntean won a penalty kick in the 27th minute and fellow senior midfielder Martijn Edelman stepped up and slotted the ball into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the year, tying the score at 1-1.

The Petrels continued to get chances as the half went along and found a go-ahead goal in the 33rd minute. Freshman midfielder Arturo Hernandez sent a through-ball down the right side for sophomore midfielder Josh Hoeft, who sent a wicked ball toward the far post. Sophomore forward Will Keegan ran onto it and slammed it into the back of the net with a sliding attempt, giving himself his second goal of the season and his team a 2-1 lead. Hoeft and Hernandez both received assists on the play, their second and fourth, respectively.

As the game wore on into the second half, though, Millsaps got more and more scoring chances and the Petrels saw less and less of the ball. Senior goalkeeper Vaughn Moore kept his team in the lead with four saves, a couple of them of the spectacular variety. However, Millsaps finally equalized in the 82nd minute on a loose header in the box from Dimitri Staursky. That set up the exciting finish in extra time.

The Petrels outshot the Majors 19-9 over the course of the game, including 9-6 in the shots-on-goal category. The Petrels took seven corner kicks to three for Millsaps. It was something of a chippy game, with four yellow cards and one red card issued between the two teams. The Petrels committed 19 fouls to their opponents' 16.

"It was another tough, gritty win for our side today," said Head Coach Jon Akin. "We didn't always play our best soccer, but obviously we scored three goals and found a way to win. It was a fantastic goal by Topher and I was proud that our defense held on as long as they did in the second half." 

The Petrels now stand as the only remaining undefeated team in SAA play after Centre suffered a loss to Rhodes today. Ogelthorpe now sits six points ahead of Centre in the standings with the Colonels holding a game in-hand after being postponed at Berry last weekend. The Petrels look to solidify their position atop the standings next weekend with a road trip to Rhodes and Hendrix. They'll take on Rhodes in Memphis, Tennessee, at 4 p.m. Eastern time Friday before continuing on to Conway, Arkansas, to take on Hendrix at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time Sunday.