ATLANTA- Pressure forges diamonds was the sentiment Friday night for the Oglethorpe University men's soccer team, who took down Maryville College 2-1 at home. This crucial win helped the Stormy Petrels climb the Southern Athletic Association standings into a place where they can lock up a spot in next week's tournament with a win or a draw on Sunday in their regular-season finale.
Nick Krull and Nathan Leveque scored the two goals of the match and Sebastian Lewis led both teams with six saves. Seven Petrels recorded a shot. Leveque and Krull tied to lead the team with three.
A stalemate first half ended after Kenny Griffin broke through two defenders and passed the ball backward to Ethan Martinez. Martinez passed to Shama Shasha at the corner of the penalty box where he took a shot that was deflected by the Maryville goalkeeper, then tapped in by Nick Krull to put the Petrels up 1-0 with one minute left in the first half.
The Petrels came into the second half hot. Brice Screws kicked off the offense with a shot. A handball called against the Scots after a corner kick taken by the Petrels resulted in a penalty kick being awarded in the 52nd minute. Leveque was elected to be at the hash and scored after sending the ball to the bottom right of the goal. This early 2-0 lead put heavy pressure on Maryville to respond.
The Scots scored in the 66th minute with a through ball pass and shot on goal. Lewis immediately responded by picking up a save just a minute later to keep the Scots at bay. The rest of the game was back and forth but the Petrels outlasted the Scots and secured the victory.
Match Notes
- Lewis still stands at No. 1 in the SAA for saves, tallying 65, 15 ahead of the next closest goalkeeper in the conference.
- Krull and Leveque both recorded their fourth goals of the season.
- This was Oglethorpe's fourth win of all time over Maryville and the second win in a row.
- Oglethorpe hosted a youth soccer night at the game.
Up Next
Oglethorpe will face Sewanee at home Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. and will celebrate Senior Day. This will conclude the slate of regular-season games for Oglethorpe, although the Petrels are set to host the conference tournament starting next Thursday.
