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Zaldivar's last-second
goal keeps Bishops alive in NCAAs
 Rocky
Mount, NC -
In Thursday's NCAA Tournament action from Scalf Field, the
North Carolina Wesleyan men's soccer team turned in one of
the most exciting finishes in program history with a 4-3
overtime win over Virginia Wesleyan. Down 3-1 with less than
15 minutes remaining, the Bishops netted three unanswered
goals to steal the victory. Junior Edgar Zaldivar (pictured)
blasted home the equalizer with eight seconds remaining to
tie the score at 3-3, while freshman Owen White netted the
Golden Goal in the 95th minute to ignite the Bishop crowd.
The Marlins (11-7-2)
grabbed the early lead with score by Clay Price in the 26th
minute off a Brandon Massie corner kick. Although the
Bishops got off 14 shots in the period, VWC keeper Jay Coble
made seven saves to secure his team's 1-0 lead at the break.
In the second half, NC
Wesleyan tied the game with its first goal at the 48:09
mark. Freshman Chris Helms did the honors when he booted
home a White cross from 10 yards out. The tie was shortlived,
however, as the Marlins countered with an Adam Stringer
score just over two minutes later.
VWC looked to put the match
out of reach when Price netted his second goal of the game
for a 3-1 advantage with 14:46 remaining. Trae Pinto
was credited with the assist after delivering a deflected
shot into the box. With their season on the line, the
Bishops got new life just 18 seconds later when an
unassisted goal by junior Danny Persson again cut the lead
to one.
Down 3-2 with less than a
minute on the clock, the Bishops gathered the ball in Marlin
territory and began to push the ball up the field. After VWC
booted a deep pass out-of-bounds, Zaldivar collected a
throw-in just over the midline with 20 seconds remaining.
He proceeded to weave his way through Marlin defenders and
took roughly a 30-yard shot as the PA announcer began the
10-second countdown. The shot found the back of the
net, forcing overtime.
Having survived being eight
seconds from elimination, the Bishops took obvious momentum
into the overtime period. White took the only shot of
the OT on a pass from Persson in the 95th minute.
Diving to his right, Coble looked to get a hand on it, but
it deflected off the post and into the net, which sent the
NCWC fans into a frenzy and left Marlin fans in shock.
Both teams endured
extremely wet conditions from the start. The Bishops
out-shot the Marlins 22-15 on the day, but VWC held a slim
6-5 advantage in corners. Coble finished with nine
saves, while NCWC keeper Alberto Faisca recorded six.
North Carolina Wesleyan (16-3-1)
will now travel to Atlanta, GA to take on Emory University
on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Bishops will be attempting to
secure their third straight Sweet 16 appearance.
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