Senior forward Evan Keny-Guyer (Portland, OR) scored in the ninth minute of overtime on Wednesday evening to lead the University of Redlands men's soccer team to a golden-goal victory over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, 1-0. This win marks the first home, overtime triumph for Redlands since November 8, 2008, when the Bulldogs punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships with a 2-1 double-overtime win over Pomona-Pitzer in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament Final.
In Wednesday night's contest, neither team garnered too many chances during the first 45 minutes, but senior midfielder Jon Frisby (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) had the closest opportunity when he hit a shot over the crossbar from 12 yards out.
By halftime, the Bulldogs led the Sagehens in the shot department, 7-1, while Pomona-Pitzer registered one corner to none for Redlands.
In the second stanza, the pace of the game quickened with much more end-to-end action. Late in regulation, Redlands senior goalkeeper Andreas Silva (San Jose, CA) made a couple of phenomenal saves to keep the score level at 0-0. Offensively, the U of R continued to apply the pressure, racking up 11 shots during the second half to go along with five corner kicks.
Unable to find the breakthrough, the Bulldogs headed to overtime looking for the game-winner. The golden goal came with just over one minute remaining in the first overtime when junior midfielder Matej Kustura (Las Vegas, NV) played a long cross into the box and found junior forward Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA). Izydorek rose above the Sagehens' defense and headed the ball past the Pomona-Pitzer goalkeeper. The ball bounced off the crossbar and into the path of Keny-Guyer who ran onto it and headed the ball into the back of the net, securing the victory.
Watch Keny-Guyer's golden goal here.
On the night, Redlands outshot Pomona-Pitzer, 21-6, and tallied six corner kicks to just three for the Sagehens. Kustura led the way for the U of R with five shots, while Keny-Guyer and Izydorek supplied three each.
Silva registered his second-straight shutout in goal for the Maroon and Gray, making four saves in the process.
After the game, Keny-Guyer talked about the important win.
Redlands (4-1-0, 4-1-0 SCIAC) travels to Chapman University on Saturday for a conference matchup with the Panthers. Kickoff in Orange is scheduled for 1 p.m.