Lyndonville, VT - Northern Vermont University-Lyndon suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 double overtime loss to Cazenovia College in Sunday afternoon's North Atlantic Conference men's soccer game. The Wildcats improved to 7-5-1 on the season and 5-2 in NAC play, while the Hornets fell to 1-11 and 0-7 in conference.
Although Cazenovia got the better of the play and outshot the Hornets, 18-4, in the opening half, neither team was able to get on the scoreboard. Hornet goalkeeper Brett Roy (Newport, VT) came up with eight saves, including a couple from point blank range, that kept Lyndon even going into halftime.
Lyndon was called for a foul in the box in the 56th minute, and the Wildcats' Luke Schlachter slid a shot past Roy into the lower left corner of the goal for the first score of the contest. The Hornets got the equalizer in the 84th minute. After a scramble in front of the Cazenovia goal off of a Lyndon free kick, Wyeth Houle's (Augusta, ME) header redirected the ball to Quinlan Peer (Saranac Lake, NY) and Peer kicked the ball into the open goal to make it 1-1. That would be the score at the end of regulation.
The Hornets nearly won the game in spectacular fashion midway through the first overtime. Gilbert Flores (Winsted, CT) fired a bicycle kick from 15 yards out that sailed just over the crossbar. The extra session would end with neither team converting.
Just over three minutes into the second overtime, the Hornets were called for a handball in the box. Schlachter then converted his second penalty kick of the game to give the Wildcats the victory.
Cazenovia outshot Lyndon, 35-11, over the course of the match. The Wildcats had nine corner kick opportunities to only one for the Hornets. Roy finished with a career high 16 saves in the Hornet net. After starting Cazenovia keeper Andrew McLean went the entire first half without facing a shot on goal, Hayden McBath came on in the second half and overtime to make a pair of saves and earn the win.
Prior to Sunday's game, Lyndon honored their five seniors and thanked them for their contributions to Hornet soccer. Defenders Javen Reinhardt (Savoy, MA), Ben Chever (Johnson, VT), and Devin Dawkins (Barnstable, MA), midfielder Luc Parrett (Eden Mills, VT), and striker Anthony Townsend (Pembroke, MA) were joined on the pitch by their families and friends.
The Hornets return to action next Saturday when they travel to Husson University for a 4:00 pm North Atlantic Conference contest.
