Wilmington, NC – Men's soccer loses 4-3 in an overtime heartbreaker against Richard Bland College.
The Sea Devils had a rough start to the game as they were down 1-0 at halftime and within the first 20 minutes of the second half Richard Bland scored again. Cape Fear fought back with their first goal 22 minutes into the second half, and then 2 more right after to go up 3-2 on Richard Bland. Travis Cotton scored the first goal for the Sea Devils. The second goal was scored by Jair Mondragon off an assist from Justin Lashin. Freshman Kobe Hepburn had an outstanding defensive shift while also scoring the third goal of the game off a flick by Francisco Tavara. Freshman right back, Ryland Hawksby had a great offensive and defensive work rate, contributing all the way down the right side of the field. Sophomore goalkeeper, Wells Bridgforth made multiple key clutch saves to keep the team in the game while also contributing from the back.
Richard Bland scored the tying goal of the game to send the game into overtime. It was then in the 93rd minute of play Richard Bland scored the winning goal of the game giving them the 4-3 victory over the Sea Devils.
Coach CW Ponton says "This is a very young team, but you wouldn't know that today. This is a tough loss, but I feel for who we play next. I expect we'll come flying out the gate on Saturday after this loss. It's an odd feeling of being upset, but extremely proud of my boys. They rallied together as a team down 2-0 to go up 3-2. I must give credit to Richard Bland for taking it into overtime and grabbing the win, but I'll take my team any day. I can't stress how proud I am of them, but this is only the beginning and we must bounce back from the loss".
The Sea Devils are now 1-1 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
Their next game is scheduled for Saturday, September 14th as they take on Spartanburg Methodist in South Carolina. Kick off is at 3pm as the Sea Devils look to get back in the winning column.
Courtesy of Breanna Sudano
Photo credit: portraitsbycarin.com
