Roellig Nets Game-Winner In Double OT Against Illinois College

JACKSONVILLE, Ill.—In double OT, Marc Roellig provided the game-winner for the men's soccer team in a 3-2 win against Illinois College on Sunday.

In the 108^th minute, a foul was called on IC just outside the box. Roellig stepped up and ripped a low shot that got past the wall and trickled behind the BlueBoys goalie, Raul Rubalcava, for the game-winning goal.

"Today was just a good, well-fought, college soccer match," said head coach Donnie Alberty. "Because of the style we play, compared to the style they play, when we play Illinois College it will always be a tightly contested match. I thought we played well enough to deserve a win, but I would not have been surprised if they found the game-winner either. We had a couple of guys that came into the match and really helped us increase our intensity level."

He continued, "Drew Blair stepped into net and came up huge a couple of times. Brett Pahl did exactly what we are asking him to do up top. The center-midfield (Andres Castro, Brandon Baumgartner, Marc Roellig, Jason Dierker) did a very good job of switching fields and dictating the pace of play. Bryan Carroll played outstanding creating opportunities out on the wing. We're getting better, but we still have a ways to go."

Overall, Fontbonne (3-3) totaled a season-high 23 shots. Nick Wolf scored twice, while Bryan Carroll and Blake Smugala added assists. In net, Drew Blair picked up his first collegiate win making five saves.

On the other side of the pitch, IC (2-5) got its goals from AJ Underwood and Brock Ziegemeier. In goal, Rubalcava came away with eight saves on 11 shots on goal.

In the 10^th minute, the BlueBoys got on the board as Thomas Saitta's free-kick attempt found the head of Ziegemeier and he beat Blair for the 1-0 lead.

That score remained the same up until there was less than a minute in the half. Carroll had the ball inside the box and he crossed a perfect pass over to Wolf, whose shot went off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net from two yards out, tying the game at 1-1.

The momentum gained at the end of the first carried over into the second for Fontbonne. In the 49^th minute, Smugala passed it off for Wolf and he scored from 10-yards out to give them a 2-1 advantage.

At the 62:20 mark, the team had a chance to push its lead out to two goals, however, Brett Pahl's header went off the crossbar.

Then, at 73:09, Deon Washington passed it up ahead for Underwood and he was able to get one past Blair, tying the scoreboard up at 2-2.

The Griffins kept the pressure up the final 17 minutes of play, but to no avail and it was off to overtime. In the first OT, the Griffins outshot the BlueBoys, 4-1, though they weren't unable to score the game-winner so it was off to double OT.

In the finale, Roellig, who had a shot earlier saved by Rubalcava in the 103rd minute, came through this time, scoring his second on the season, making it a 3-2 final.

The Griffins return to action this Tuesday when they'll travel down the road and take on WashU. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the men's soccer team.

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