MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Down 2-0 with 5:46 to play, the Purple & White battled back to score three unanswered goals, as the No. 5 Amherst College men's soccer team defeated Little III rival Wesleyan University, 3-2 in double overtime Saturday afternoon at Jackson Field. 

"What happened in the last twenty five minutes of that game is what Amherst Soccer is all about," remarked head coach Justin Serpone. "99.9% of teams would have quit but we're champions because of our tenacity, passion and care. I couldn't be more proud of our team."

With the win, Amherst improves to 12-1-1 overall and 7-1-1 in NESCAC play, while Wesleyan falls to 5-8-1 overall (2-7-0 NESCAC). Amherst returns to action for their regular season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 22 when they welcome Trinity College to Hitchcock Field for a 3 p.m. conference tilt, while the Cardinals take on Connecticut College at home on Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. 

Wesleyan was first to strike as Garrett Hardesty broke the scoreless tie to give the Cardinals a 1-0 edge at the 62:53 mark. Finding the ball in a scrum in front of the goal following a Wesleyan free kick from 30 yards out, Hardesty tucked a hard, low shot inside the left post.

Drawing his second yellow card of the matchup in the 68th minute, senior Andrew Orozco was dismissed from play and Amherst was forced to complete the game down a player. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wesleyan doubled their lead less than six minutes later as Adam Cowie-Haskell tallied his team-leading eighth goal of the season.

Collecting a pass from Jack Wolf at the top of the box, Cowie-Haskell cut back on a defender and drove a shot from point-blank range into the bottom left corner of the net.

Undeterred by the deficit, Amherst mounted an improbable comeback and found the back of the net twice in the final six minutes of play to knot the matchup at 2-2 and send the game into overtime. 

Scoring his first goal of the season, senior Rohan Sood made it a 2-1 contest at the 84:14 mark. Launching a ball towards goal from 35 yards out, Bijan Zojaji '20 found Sood on the back post. Gaining inside positioning on his defender, Sood volleyed the pass past Cardinal goalie Eric Jasinski and into the bottom right corner of the goal. 

Holding offensive momentum, Amherst evened the score at 2-2 with 1:30 remaining in the conference matchup. Capitalizing on a long throw in from the left sideline, Cameron Hardington '18 gathered the ball in a scrum in front of the goal and sent a shot off a defender and into the nylon.

Charlie Gruner nearly gave Wesleyan the highly contested victory in the 101st minute as he ripped a shot from the top right of the box on goal, but his attempt rang off the crossbar.

Vying for the game-winner in the 107th minute, Bryce Ciambella '17 dished a long pass from the top of the box in Amherst's defensive end to the streaking Christopher Martin '17 50 yards downfield. Earning a 2-on-1, Martin sent a ball across the field to Fikayo Ajayi '19 who was taken out from behind inside the box on a slide tackle attempt by the Cardinal netminder to draw a Purple & White penalty kick.

Tabbed to take the kick at the 108:32 mark, Ciambella's steely resolve shown through as he drained the shot to give Amherst the 3-2 double overtime victory. 

"Today's win was special but it's even more of a valuable life lesson for our guys," said Serpone. "Everyone else might count you out and the road might be steep but in anything you do in life- if you work, care and surround yourself with good people- you're never completely out of it."

GAME NOTES

• Lee Owen '18 (11-1-1) registered five saves in the winning effort in between the pipes for Amherst, while Eric Jasinski (1-2-0) made five saves for Wesleyan in the loss.
• Each side took 18 shots in the matchup, while Amherst edged the Cardinals in corner kicks, 7-6.
• Ciambella led the game with five shots in the outing, while Weller Hlinomaz '18 took three shots for the Purple & White.
• Cowie-Haskell led Wesleyan with four shots, while Hardesty and Cameron Park took three shots each.  

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Today's 3-2 win over Wesleyan marks the 150th career victory for head coach Justin Serpone who is currently in the midst of his 10th season at the helm of the Amherst College men's soccer program. Owning a .842 winning percentage, Serpone's all-time head coaching record stands at 150-18-25.
• "Reaching 150 wins is nice because it makes me think of all of the players, coaches and staff that worked so hard to make every one of those wins possible," commented Serpone. "I hope that the journey to the next 150 is as special and rewarding as the last ten seasons have been."