Lara Powers Bears Soccer to OT Win
With the Bears and Royals of Grace University all knotted up under the lights in Haviland at the end of regulation, Bears Freshman midfielder Melvin Lara lazered a shot from just outside the box into the back of the net to give the Bears a 3-0 start to their 2013 campaign.
Five minutes into the game, the Bears got on the scoreboard first when Freshman Eli Dahir cranked in a goal in the 14th minute of the game. As the first half wore on, however, the Bears lacked energy and the Royals capitalized. Their first goal came in the 24th minute when Senior goalie Austin Ogle was caught off the goal line and the Royals chipped one in over his head and then they added a second goal in the 35th minute when Ogle was beat on another 1 v. 1 play.
Trailing 2-1 at intermission, the Bears came out on a mission. Less than five minutes into the half, in the 49th minute, Lara bent a shot into the left corner of the net to tie the game up at two apiece. Possession was dominated by the Bears in the second half and they outshot the Royals 7-0 in the second half alone, but the score remained locked at two. In the closing seconds of regulation the Bears had one more opportunity. Sophomore Kingsley Assibey found a window int the defense with less than a minute left and blasted a shot, but it hit square off the post and ricocheted high into the night sky to take the game into overtime.
In the golden goal overtime, it was Lara who put the Bears on his back and led them to the victory. His second goal of the game came in the 97th minute of the contest and his fourth on the season.
The Bears are back in action in Haviland 1:00 PM CST on Saturday against an MCCC opponent, Faith Baptist Bible College (Ankeny, IA).