On Sunday the Stetson men's soccer team ran its current unbeaten streak to four games and won its second consecutive game in overtime 1-0 over USC Upstate. It was also the second consecutive game that senior Tanner Wolf (Hudson, FL) tallied a golden goal game-winner for the Hatters.
It was a hard fought, back-and-forth game through regulation play. Stetson held the advantage in shots in the first half (10-4), and Upstate led the second half 6-2. Wolfe sparked the Hatters offense all night. He just missed putting Stetson up early in the first when he drilled a shot off the right post in the fourth minute. Early in the second he sent another hard shot toward the goal that was deflected wide at the last moment by a Spartan defender.
On the offensive end seven Hatters managed a shot. Six players had one each and Wolfe led the way with a total of nine, four of which were on goal. The one that counted most came in the second overtime at 102:43. Just prior, the Hatters gained possession of the ball at midfield off of a misfired Spartan free kick. A well-timed pass down the middle sent Wolfe in alone with Upstate goalkeeper Jason McCabe. An ensuing collision between Wolfe and McCabe resulted in a penalty kick for the Hatters. Wolfe took the kick and gave Stetson the 1-0 win.
Stetson goalkeeper Evan White picked up five saves on the day including a dramatic stop of a Chad McCoy shot as the first overtime came to an end. It was the fourth shutout of the season for White.
Stetson picked up its tenth win of the season and is now 10-4-1 overall and finishes at 6-2-1 in conference play. USC Upstate dropped to 3-13-0 overall and 3-6-0 in the A-Sun. The Hatters, ranked #9 in this week's NSCAA South Region poll will return home and end the regular season by hosting a pair of non-conference games against Winthrop (11/3) and Georgia Southern (11/7).