Philadelphia, Pa. (October 11, 2008) - Senior Dathan Knott scored his fourth goal of the season, but the Georgia State men's soccer team fell 2-1 to the Drexel Dragons with two seconds left in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, Pa. This marks the third time that the Panthers have gone into overtime in their last four contests.
"Today was the tale of two halves; they were the better team in the first half and I thought we were the better team in the second," commented Georgia State coach Kerem Daser.
The Panthers (4-4-3, 0-2-2 CAA) had a tough first period and struggled to dominate the offensive flow. Georgia State was outshot 4-9 for the first period of the contest. Drexel's Leland Raum gave the Dragons a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute after he was served off of a header from teammate Anthony Bafile. The Panthers would remain down by one goal until the 74th minute.
Georgia State would swing the momentum their way on offense in the second half, earning four corner kicks early in the half and mounting several solid build-ups. The Panthers got their equalizer with just under 16 minutes left in the match.
Junior midfielder Stephan Minyono, the CAA's leading scorer, carried the ball into the box, outmuscling Drexel defender Greg Ermold on the challenge. He lifted a cross that keeper Cory Robertson leapt to challenge, getting one hand on it. But Robertson's effort was not enough to clear the ball as Dathan Knott headed in the rebound to draw the match at 1-1. That is Minyono's fourth assist and Knott's fourth goal on the season.
"It was great to see Dathan score from Stephan's assist. I was very proud of his performance today," remarked Daser.
Just as it appeared the match would go into a second overtime, the game-winning goal came in the final two seconds of the first overtime period. Drexel defender Bryan Ruff was able to score on a header off a free kick by Anthony Bafile.
Total shots were a tight 14-12 in Drexel's favor in the match, but the Panthers held a slight 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
In a physical contest overall, the Panthers were whistled for 17 fouls to Drexel's nine infractions, but the Dragons were carded five times while Georgia State was booked twice in the match.
Senior midfielder Linus Warendh led the Panthers in shots for the afternoon with four. Minyono, Knott, and defender Tobias Nagy each registered two shots, while seniors Francesco Barbera and Joe DeVito each tallied a shot a piece.
"We had chances to finish the game, but we just couldn't follow through. It's tough to lose in the last two seconds, but that's life and we just need to regroup," stated Daser. "We have many home games coming up. Our team is a much improved team and we need to show character and pride in the program and get ourselves ready for the last stretch."
The Panthers look ahead to their next match as they welcome the Old Dominion Monarchs to Panthersville at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15th.
Check GeorgiaStateSports.com for live stats and the game recap immediately following.
