Ernst Overtime Goal Propels Tribe Past Northeastern

Senior Doug Ernst scored 1:26 into overtime to give the Tribe the 2-1 win.

10/07/07 5:15PM

Williamsburg - Thanks to a goal from senior midfield Doug Ernst less than a 1:30 into overtime, the William and Mary men’s soccer team defeated Northeastern, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at Albert-Daly Field. The victory pushed the Tribe over the .500-mark for the first time since the opening game of the season as Ernst slotted home his own rebound for the game-winner. The Tribe improved to 5-4-2 overall and a perfect 2-0 in CAA play, while Northeastern dropped to 2-7 overall and 0-2 in conference.

After Northeastern had forced overtime with a goal early in the second half, W&M found the game-winner 1:26 into overtime. Off a quick throw in, sophomore forward Price Thomas found running mate Alan Koger down the flank. Koger made a nice tackle with a defender on him, sliding the ball to Ernst, who was 15 yards from goal on the left side. The initial attempt from Ernst was blocked by the Northeastern defense, but with goalkeeper Mahmoud Talaat drawn out by the sequence, Ernst slotted home the rebound into the blower right side of the net. The goal was Ernst's first of the 2007 season.

The Tribe jumped out to the early advantage as Thomas turned in a nice individual effort to record his fourth goal in the last five W&M matches. It also marked the fifth straight match in which the Charlottesville, Va., native has recorded a point. Thomas took the ball from a Northeastern defender along the left side of the field. As he dribbled down into the penalty area, stride-for-stride with a NU defender, Thomas cut the ball back to his right. The juke move freed the striker up for a right-footed shot that found the back of the net to the far post from 13 yards out.

Thomas had two other chances in the opening half of play, but both attempts were blocked by Mahmoud Talaat. In the 15th minute of play, Thomas hit a low shot from the 18 yards out on the left side that skidded along the ground before being corralled by Talaat. In the 33rd minute, the Husky goalkeeper again made the stop on a 15-yard shot from the left side by Thomas.

The Huskies found the equalizer off a rebound, four minutes into the second half. NU forward Greg Kilkenny sent a long shot on frame that W&M goalkeeper Andrew McAdams made the save on. The ball parried out and popped up, before Ahmed Talaat headed home the rebound into an empty net.

Junior reserve forward Nathan Belcher narrowly missed a spectacular bicycle kick in the 72nd minute of play. Off a free kick from freshman back Nick Orozco, the ball bounced off the Northeastern goalkeeper and bounded free with an open net. Belcher attempted to bicycle the shot home, but the attempt went wide of the right post.

The Tribe continues its season-long four-match homestand with CAA contests against James Madison and VCU. The Dukes travel to Williamsburg on Friday, Sept. 12, for a 7 p.m. kickoff, while the Tribe will battle the Rams on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 5 p.m. Both games can be heard live over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com by following the listen live link on the schedule page.

Box Score