Kopff And Jared Lyeki Score In Griffins OT Loss Against WashU

ST. LOUIS, Mo.— The Fontbonne University men's soccer team had its eyes on picking up its first win since 2012 against WashU on Tuesday night, however, the Bears scored a late goal in the second half and ended it in overtime, winning 3-2.

"What an exciting college soccer match," said head coach Donnie Alberty. "This match kind of proved our quality of character, mostly to ourselves. We will always be the type of program that will play anyone and we played tonight with a quality program."

Alberty added, "They're well coached and very organized, but we went toe-to-toe and had them on the ropes. We aren't satisfied by any means and we will come back out tomorrow and work at getting better."

The Griffins (3-4), got its goals from Brendan Kopff, his second on the season, while Jared Lyeki netted his first collegiate goal. In net, Eric Volk returned to action and faced 11 shots on goal, making eight saves.

The Bears (2-3), totaled 19 shots and were led by the performance of Ryan Sproule. He scored the tying and game-winning goal for WashU, to go along with his game-high eight shots. In goal, Matt Martin got the win after posting two saves.

In the first, the Bears were awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box in the 17^th minute. Sean Connors stepped out and scored to give them a 1-0 lead. Despite the Bears having a shot advantage of 7-2, the Griffins line and Volk in net kept it a one-goal deficit.

In the second, in the 66^th minute, the Griffins got on the board. Kopff and Blake Smugala executed a perfect give-and-go play, which gave some space for Kopff. The St. Louis, Mo., native, sent an absolute line drive shot from 30-yards out over the outstretched hand of Martin and into the net tying the game at 1-1.

Then, four minutes later, the Bears failed at a clearance in its own end. Jared Lyeki got the loose ball and he lifted his shot into the far right corner of the net giving Fontbonne a 2-1 lead.

However, with two minutes left, Sproule received a pass from Ben Strozewski inside the box, and Sproule tapped it in past Volk to tie the game and force overtime.

In OT, the Bears got a corner-kick in the 93^rd minute. Makio Yamamato placed the ball perfectly onto the head of Sproule, who headed it in for the game-winner.

The Griffins return to action in front of the home crowd on Sunday against Wisconsin-Whitewater. Kick-off at 1 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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