Julius Werner scored with less than a second remaining to lift the St. Thomas Aquinas College men's soccer team to a wild 6-5 East Coast Conference victory at Spartan Field. Michael Corbi added two goals for the Spartans who improved to 6-6-1 overall and 3-5-0 in ECC action, with Molloy falling to 5-8-3, 3-4-3.
STAC got on the board moments after the opening introductions, with Dennis Lazo-Cruz heading home Jack Legg's corner kick at the 2:16 mark to set the stage for a frantic afternoon of soccer. Jovani Ramos would tie the score for Molloy at 10:22 and the visitors would take their first lead at the 16:40 mark when Dan Brown hit the net off a failed clear.
Just over three minutes later, Laurie Child would send a pretty feed up the field to Werner, who netted his first of the day at the 19:00 mark to once again tie the score. The Lions would recapture the advantage on Ibrahimma Diarra's goal at 25:40. After five goals in the first 26 minutes, both teams would settle in for the rest of the first half with the visitors holding the one-goal lead.
Not to be outdone, both teams seemed determined to top their first-half scoring outburst, with Molloy's Ryan Fackner scoring at 54:58 to give his squad a 4-2 lead. Proving that no lead was to be safe on this day, Daouda Kone took a nice header pass from Werner and blasted one home just under two minutes later to draw the Spartans to within 4-3.
Moments later, the celebration had barely died down when Brown scored his second of the day just 25 ticks afterward, once again providing the Lions with a two-goal cushion at 5-3.
Far from being deflated, the Spartans lived up to their nickname in battling back once again. Corbi, the team leader in scoring, took another corner kick from Legg and found net at 62:02 to cut the deficit to 5-4. Corbi would stun the Lions at 67:13, taking a combination of passes from Michael Wagner and Werner before sliding one artfully into the far corner of the net, bringing the hosts even once again at 5-5.
Overtime seemed a virtual - and deserved - certainty as the final seconds of regulation ticked down. A Molloy foul not far from the midfield line started the countdown for what appeared to be the final 10 seconds before the extra session. Legg intelligently sprinted for the ball, spotting it and sending a long service into the penalty area.
Werner was right on the spot, heading the game-winner past a beleagured Mario Gaglino and his teammates, and into the Molloy net with just :00.8 seconds showing on the clock, sending the Spartans into a joyous celebration.
Shots were even at 22-22 for the game, but the big players came through in the Spartans point parade, with Werner posting two goals and two assists, Corbi with two goals, and Legg recording three assists. Brown was a standout in his own right for Molloy, with two goals and two assists. Nathan Mangione made nine saves in the STAC net while Gagliano stopped eight for Molloy.
The Spartans will play all three remaining games at Spartan Field, starting on Monday, October 28 with a non-conference match against Concordia College starting at 3:00 pm. They will play Roberts Wesleyan in an ECC battle on Friday, November 1 at 2:30 pm, and wrap up against Daemen on Sunday, November 3 at 12:30.