CHICAGO, Ill. - After 108 minutes of intense soccer in pouring rain, the Goshen College men's soccer team got exactly what they needed, although it came in unexpected fashion.  With just over a minute separating them from a tie, senior Cody Felton flicked a bicycle kick over a charging Saint Xavier (Ill.) goalkeeper to secure a 2-1 road win.
CHICAGO, Ill. - A two and a half hour drive in the rain, each way: dreadful.

108 minutes of soccer in the downpour: painful.

Picking up an all important road victory: priceless.

It was far from easy, but the Goshen College men's soccer team treaded through the conditions to pull out a 2-1 double-overtime victory at St. Xavier (Ill.) on Saturday.

"This is a very good win for our program and for all the guys that are on the team that work so hard in practice," said head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj. "We need to win these close games away from home. I am very please with our men side how they continue to improve and keep working hard."

While playing in the rain is rarely glamorous, senior Cody Felton made sure this game would end a bit differently. With just over a minute left in the second overtime period - the game would have ended in a tie - junior Rusty Emery sent a long ball that landed just outside the 18-yard box.

After it skipped over a defender's head, Felton flew past his defender full speed towards a charging Saint Xavier goalkeeper.

In prime time Sportscenter highlight fashion, Mounsithiraj walks us through the rest of the play, "With everything on the line, Felton was as cool as the rain fail as he turned his back to goal and flicked the ball over his shoulder, over the reach of the keeper and just under the crossbar. Felton has scored some big goals for Goshen as it is almost expected from seniors, but the ball just seemed to hang in mid-air for an eternity."

That moment of glory - 108 minutes into a tough, rainy day - gave the Maple Leafs their second-straight win after starting the season 0-3.

Even though Goshen started the game with the better possession and attacking presence it was Saint Xavier that got the early lead when in the 17th minute, Daniel Cross headed home a corner kick.

"I thought we did great job right off the opening kick off moving the ball really well and getting some shot on goal, but somehow we just can not find the net," explained Mounsithiraj.

Saint Xavier's 1-0 lead held until halftime despite the Leafs posting 10 shots to the Cougars six. Goshen forced St. Xavier keeper James Kline into six saves in the first half and the Leafs also struck the post once.

"Even with one-nil lead by Saint Xavier I still believed that we could win this match because we were playing very good soccer," Mounsithiraj added. "I kept encouraging the boys that this is not over and we need to continue to keep possession and creating chances."

The Leafs were able to continue to keep possession and create chances and it finally paid off in the 72nd minute. Just on as a substitute, sophomore Afrah Haile blasted a shot from just about six yards off the goal mount to score his first goal in a Goshen uniform.

"The play was created when Scott Wilkinson sent the ball into the box and several Saint Xavier defenders couldn't clear the ball," Mounsithiraj explained. "Haile was 'johnny on the spot' as he tied the match up."

With neither team able to find the decisive goal in the remaining twenty minutes of regulation or the first overtime, the match stretched into a second overtime period.

"In the overtime period, we were still playing good soccer and I would have been happy to go home with a draw," Mounsithiraj added. "After spending so much energy trying to get that tying goal I am thankful that we had a lot of subs that stepped up and performed when we needed."

In fact, nine substitutes played a major role for Goshen before Felton's magic ended a long, yet successful day for the Maple Leafs.

The road is not going to get any easier for Goshen as they host Manchester College on Tuesday before facing a pair of NAIA Top 25 teams in the Bethel College Tournament over the weekend. The Leafs face #9 Southern Nazarene (Okla.) on Friday and #20 Mid-Continent (Ky.) on Saturday.