LONGVIEW, Texas – The Belhaven Men's Soccer team had to play 12 extra minutes on Saturday afternoon, but was able to defeat the LeTourneau Yellowjackets, 2-1, in double overtime at the LETU Soccer Complex.
For the first 30 minutes, the Blazers (8-3-1) and the Yellowjackets (3-8-1) remained scoreless. However,
John Ledbetter ended the scoreless tie with his first goal of the season in the 34th minute.
Leading 1-0 going into the second half, LeTourneau was able to get on the board in the 55th minute to tie the match at one apiece.
The match would head into overtime. The Blazers took two shots in the period, but were unable to score.
After 100 minutes, the match would go into a second overtime. Two minutes into the period, Ledbetter played wide to give
Cillian Thompson the touch in the box past the goalkeeper into the corner for the game-winning goal. The goal is Thompson's sixth of the season and his sixth career game-winning goal.
The Blazers defense held the Yellowjackets to one shot in the second half and no shots in overtime.
"We dominated the run of play with massive amounts of possession," said head coach
Carl Griffiths. "They sat in defensively and were organized which made it difficult for us to break them down. We need to continue to do a better job of putting the game away."
The Blazers win their second consecutive double overtime match away from Jackson. Their last win came last September 1 with a 1-0 victory against Wayland Baptist. Since the 2010 season, the Blazers are 5-4-5 in overtime matches.
Belhaven will return home for its final homestand of the season during homecoming weekend. The Blazers will host the Ozarks on Thursday night at 6 p.m. at the Belhaven Bowl.
