Box Score
MADISON, Wis. – It was a back-and-forth battle that ended in a thriller as Maranatha Baptist Bible College unexpectedly took Edgewood College to the brink of a 2-1 OT decision favoring the Eagles in an important Northern Athletics Conference match at Breese Stevens Field on Tuesday night.
It was an important match in that the Eagles (7-7, 5-3 NAC) are jockeying for NAC tournament position and Maranatha Baptist, under first-year Head Coach Jeff Pill, is in rebuilding mode and looked to prove its worth in trying to snap a 15-game losing streak against Edgewood College.
The Crusaders (6-9, 1-8 NAC) nearly accomplished the feat after a Brett Hollenbeck goal in the 26th minute off a deflected save by Shane Sullivan. The Crusaders relaxed a bit after the score and continued to put pressure on the Eagles.
Meanwhile, Edgewood College was busy trying to convert chances of its own and they finally caught a break just after halftime. Greg Dezell knifed his way through the Crusader defense and drew a foul inside the penalty area earning a penalty kick as a result. Dezell converted the kick for his fifth goal of the season and knotted the game up at 1-1.
The Eagles had been a sub-par team at home through the first seven games (2-5). They hadn't gone through a stretch at home quite like that since 2003 when they started 3-6-1, but they won the final three to finish .500 that year.
A sign that Edgewood College may be turning the corner came in the extra frame. After 90 minutes couldn't decide a winner, the game went to overtime. It took only 28 seconds for Dezell to receive a Matt Pampuch cross and place it into the back of the net for his second goal of the game and the decisive game-winner.
The Eagles were caught offsides an astounding 10 times throughout the match, but still managed to outshoot the Crusaders 13-11 and win the corner kick battle 4-1. The win extended Edgewood College's winning streak to 16 games against Maranatha Baptist including the last nine at Breese Stevens Field.
The Eagles will remain at home for its next three games beginning with a nonconference matchup with UW-Whitewater at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
