KANSAS CITY, MO. — The wind played a major factor in the Mid-Continent Conference Men’s Soccer Championship match as third-seeded Western Illinois (6-9-4, 3-2-1 Mid-Con) posted a 4-3 win in overtime against top-seeded Oakland (10-9-0, 5-1-0 Mid-Con) to win its second consecutive Mid-Con Championship at Swope Park in Kansas City, Mo. The Leathernecks also earn the Mid-Con’s automatic berth into the NCAA Men’s College Cup. The 48-team bracket will be announced Monday, November 14 between 5-5:30 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPNews.

WIU jumped out to a 3-0 lead playing with the wind in the first half, but Oakland rebounded with three tallies of its own despite playing two men down for the final 10 minutes of the match. Preston Bernardi gave the Leathernecks a 1-0 lead with a shot into the left-hand corner of the net with assists going to Nowaf Jaman and Nick Bohnenkamp. Jeff Wakeland then added another score for WIU at the 44:00 mark thanks to a pass from Jaman. Jaman then converted on a penalty kick three minutes later to give the Leathernecks a 3-0 lead heading into the break.

With the wind at their back, the Golden Grizzlies stormed back after the break, starting with a Chris Edwards goal in the 66th minute. Freshman Wade Allen then made it a 3-2 game in the 79th minute when he took Jim Denk’s pass and ripped it past WIU keeper Dave Hanlon. Playing down a man after Edwards was served with his second yellow card of the game, Allen netted his second goal off of an indirect free kick in the 85th minute to knot the game at 3-3.

The squads headed into the extra period tied at 3-3, but the Golden Grizzlies were down two men after Piotr Nowak was hit with a red card at the 84:57 mark. Western Illinois clinched the title on a Bohnenkamp goal in the 97th minute off of an Elton Fernandes pass.

Semifinals
(1) Oakland 4, (4) Valparaiso 2 (Box Score)
(3) Western Illinois 1, (2) Oral Roberts 1 (2 OT) (WIU advances on PKs, 4-3) (Box Score)

Championship
(3) Western Illinois 4, (1) Oakland 3 (OT) (Box Score)

All-Tournament Team
Wes Allen, Oakland
Nick Bohnenkamp, Western Illinois (MVP)
Jon Brighton, Valparaiso
D.J. Catrow, Valparaiso
Jim Denk, Oakland
Jorge Flor, Oral Roberts
Ben Gearhart, Oakland
Dave Hanlon, Western Illinois
Nowaf Jaman, Western Illinois
Kosuke Kimura, Western Illinois
Dave Leung, Oral Roberts

 

 

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