CHICAGO – Ronan Perennes scored the golden goal less than two minutes into overtime, lifting the Roosevelt men's soccer team to a 2-1 road win against Saint Xavier in extra time at Deaton Field on Tuesday night.
Michael Flores scored the game's first goal on a ball from Albert Arabik 12 minutes into the match to give the Lakers (12-4-0, 10-1-0 CCAC) the early lead.
Roosevelt dominated possession and outshot the Cougars (7-6-2, 6-3-1 CCAC) by double digits, but the hosts would bag the equalizer in the late stages of the second half. A corner kick from Cesar Correa allowed Fabian Lopez to score from the far post to level the match and eventually call for overtime.
The Lakers did not let the late goal rattle their quest to leave Chicago's South Side with a result, and the Green and White did its best to use as little of overtime as possible to secure the win.
Joe Oswin attempted a shot during the first minute of OT that was blocked by an SXU defender and went over the line to give the Lakers a corner. Jose Rivera took the kick, and Chepo's try took a trajectory toward the cranium of Perennes, who snapped a header that beat Alan Garcia for the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute and kept the Lakers' hopes alive for the conference crown.
The win sets the stage for Saturday night's collision course between Roosevelt and Cardinal Stritch. The two sides are tied for first place in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference with identical 10-1 records, and the Lakers will host the Wolves at 6 p.m. at IIT's Stuart Field for a winner-take-all regular-season affair with an NAIA National Championship bid also at stake.
The 6 p.m. kickoff will be preceded by Senior Day festivities earlier in the evening.
