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Courtesy: Torrey Vail
Owenson's Goal Late In Second OT Give Gonzaga 3-2 Victory
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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Andrew Owenson's goal with one second remaining in double overtime gave Gonzaga University's men's soccer team a 3-2 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Sunday morning in the Hensor/Zaher Nike Soccer Classic at Paul Lorenz Field.
The match-winning goal came when Nikolai Littleton had the ball on the right flank near midfield and he sent a cross to Owenson on the left side from 20 yards, his shot beating UWGB keeper Ryan Wehking to his left with one tick left on the clock.
Gonzaga (4-3-0) won both matches in the tournament following Friday's 2-1 victory over UC-Irvine, but host Oregon State University won the tournament on goal differential. Gonzaga had a plus-three differential while OSU was plus-six after a 6-1 win over UWGB Friday and 1-0 double-overtime victory over Irvine Sunday.
Owenson, Littleton and Nate Pacheco were named to the All-Tournament team for the Bulldogs.
"I don't think I've ever had a match like that," Gonzaga head coach Einar Thorarinsson said.
After a scoreless first half, Gonzaga took a 2-0 second-half lead. The Bulldogs first goal came at 61:07 when Littleton's free kick from the left side bent around the wall of the defense and Pacheco headed the ball to the near post for his second goal of the season after scoring the match-winner against UC Irvine.
Gonzaga made it 2-0 when senior Casey Ames scored his first goal of the season when a header from the right side beat Wehking high.
But the Phoenix quickly evened the score with two goals in 16 seconds. The first goal came at 81:52 when Sam Krenzian's shot from 10 feet on the left side of the box beat Gonzaga keeper Chris Lowrimore to his right.
It didn't take UWGB long to get the equalizer, Ahmad Bah beating Lowrimore from the right side inside the box at 82:08.
"We just let our guard down. They just came straight down and scored right away their first goal," Thorarinsson said. "We weren't concentrating. Chris didn't have a chance on either goal. He played well and had a good match."
Gonzaga held a 22-14 edge in shots and a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal. Lowrimore, who made his first career start in Friday's win, had two saves with one in each half. Wehking had six saves, two in the first half, three in the second half and one in the first overtime.
"It was a team effort today. We possessed the ball, moved it forward, intercepted in their half a lot and overall played a solid match," Thorarinsson noted.
Thorarinsson said there's still not a clear-cut keeper, but Lowrimore would probably get the nod Wednesday when the Bulldog open West Coast Conference play at the University of Portland. The Zags return home next Sunday for the first time since Sept. 2 when the University of San Francisco visits for the WCC home opener at 2 p.m. at Gonzaga Soccer Field. The men's game will be the second half of a double-header as the Zag women meet the University of Nevada at 11 a.m.
"These two wins give us some momentum and we have to build on it," Thorarinsson said of the start of WCC action.
2012 Oregon State Hensor/Zaher Nike Classic All-Tournament Team
Nate Pacheco, Gonzaga
Andrew Owenson, Gonzaga
Nikolai Littleton, Gonzaga
Matt Bersano, Oregon State
Emery Welshman, Oregon State
Chris Harms, Oregon State
Roberto Farfan, Oregon State
Glenn Paden, Oregon State
Cameron Iwasa, UC-Irvine
Enrique Cardenas, UC-Irvine
Sam Krenzien, UW-Green Bay
Ahmad Bah, UW-Green Bay
