Box Score Embry-Riddle Men's Soccer beat the Red Hawks of Simpson University 4-3 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Varsity Field.
ERAU took five first half shots and hit the crossbar once but could not find the back of the net. Simpson scored first as they took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Jaime Velasco in the 42nd minute. The Red Hawks went into the half up a goal.
In the second half, the Red Hawks scored again as David Vasquez put Simpson up 2-0 in the 76th minute. With just 14 minutes left in their season, the Eagles picked up the pressure. Alex Frances (Valencia, Spain) scored the first of his three goals in the game in the 78th minute. Emanuele Bossi (Gallarte, Italy) was able to run down an ERAU clearance and play it over the Frances who one timed the ball into the net to bring Embry-Riddle within one. In the 83rd minute, Francesco Busini (Velletri, Italy) played a deep cross over to Lucas Garcia (Barcelona, Spain). Garcia headed the ball back across the goal and Paul Fulop (Chicago, Ill.) was there to tie the score at 2-2.
In the first overtime, Velasco scored again and Simpson took a 3-2 lead into the final ten minutes. In the last overtime period, Embry-Riddle pushed the tempo and it paid off. Frances finished off his second goal of the game in the 15th minute and just two minutes later, he completed the hat trick as the Eagles won 4-3.
ERAU will now take on UC Merced in the Cal Pac Semifinals on Thursday in Riverside at La Sierra University. The game is set to kick-off at 7:00pm.
