DURANGO, Colo.-
Mathew Cox scored two goals and
James Roberts scored the game-winner to lead the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team from a 3-0 halftime deficit to a 5-4 overtime win against Fort Lewis in the opening round of the RMAC Tournament. UCCS (10-8-1) will advance to the semifinals for the second time in three years and face regular season champion Colorado Mesa on Friday.
The Skyhawks scored within the first two minutes of the game, and then scored two goals within a 20-second span in the 35th minute for the 3-0 lead at the half. Seven of the nine Fort Lewis shots were on target in the first half, compared to one Mountain Lion shot on goal.
Cox put the Mountain Lions on the board in the 51st minute on a pass from
J.R. Calhoun from inside the box, and then added another goal in the 62nd minute to make it a 3-2 game. The two goals moved him into a tie for No. 10 in UCCS career records with his 16th and 17th goals of his career, and his eight goals this season are one short of the top 10 records. Calhoun tied the game less than a minute after Cox's goal to make it a 3-3 with less than 28 minutes to play in regulation.
Fort Lewis retook the lead at 4-3 in the 65th minute, and an own goal by the Skyhawks in the 80th minute off of a UCCS throw-in tied it again at 4-4. The Skyhawks controlled the tempo for most of the final 10 minutes with three shots and four corner kick opportunities, but the Mountain Lion defense held to force overtime.
Roberts took a shot three minutes into the overtime period that went high in the first shot for either team in the period. A Mountain Lion pass on the following possession was misplayed by the Skyhawk goalkeeper, who came up to defend the ball, and the miscue allowed Roberts to score the game-winning goal uncontested in the 94th minute. It was his seventh career game-winner to move him into a tie for third in UCCS records.
Head Coach
Johnnie Keen remains unbeaten in his three-year career in the first round of the RMAC Tournament, and has led the Mountain Lions to their first 10-win season in 2003. The 3-0 deficit was the largest comeback win since UCCS won a 5-4 overtime game against Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 2, 1998, after a 4-0 deficit against the Orediggers.
The Mountain Lions will face Colorado Mesa on Friday at 7 p.m., in Grand Junction, Colo. UCCS is the only RMAC team to defeat the Mavericks this season, in a 3-0 win on Sept. 21.
