Edward P. Dittmer (Hershey, PA)
Overtime was golden for the Wildcats on Sunday afternoon as Tim Leonard put away a cross from Jamel Mitchell in the 93rd minute for a 2-1 golden goal victory over the Charleston Battery.
Charleston, coming off a 4-0 demolition of Pittsburgh on Friday, started the game showing few signs of fatigue. The worked hard in the midfield, closing down Hershey's attacks, and looking for a weakness in the Wildcats defense. For their part, Hershey looked a bit disorganized and frustrated by the Battery's tough pressing defense. Early on, only Ze Roberto seemed willing to put in the extra effort to pick up loose balls and start attacks.
Former Columbus Crew reservist Mac Cozier showed why he deserved a starting spot somewhere with constant pressure on the Hershey keeper. In the 10th minute, a poor clearance went high into the air in front of goal with Sletvold just getting his hand above Cozier's head to punch it away. Only a poor angle at goal prevented Cozier from hitting an open net in the 19th as he was unable to turn and shoot with Sletvold trapped in No Man's Land.
Cozier finally created a goal for Charleston in the 33rd minute of play. Williams was no match for Cozier as he fell while trying to turn and cover the streaking Battery forward. With plenty of time to choose a target and only one defender back, Cozier coolly crossed into the middle. While Alvero was unable to catch up, Todd Miller was and made no mistake as he scored his second goal of the season.
Fortunately for the home side, Charleston was not error free as Dusty Hudock mishandled a high shot in the 44th and dropped it. The ball fell to his feet, but Hudock was himself down and unable to control the ball. Henning would pass the loose ball to Mitchell, who chipped it in for his 8th of the season.
The Battery substituted Cloutier and Scott in for Ilarionov and Warham at the start of the second half. Early on, the Wildcats could not manage sustained attacks and Charleston seemed more determined that ever to take four points. As the half wore on though, the visitors began to lose some steam and the fresher Wildcats took advantage of the situation to attack the Battery. Simmonds, Mitchell, and Ze Roberto had hard shots on goal that Hudock held onto. In the 62nd, Mitchell had a chance as he ran onto a loose ball with no defenders around. Unfortunately, Hudock, who played well out of the goal, ran in and took it off his feet.
The key play off the second half was a hard tackle on Velko Iotov in the 87th minute. The Battery had only the backup keeper Josh Campbell in reserve and was forced to insert him in the forward spot for the remainder of play. Velko appeared to have a dislocated shoulder as he left the field.
Entering the first overtime period, Hershey added recent acquisition for some offensive punch in extra time. It did not take long for Hershey to capitalize on Charleston's misfortune. Butler crossed wide to Mitchell, who worked into the box and centered for Tim Leonard. Leonard poked the ball off the inside of the post and into the net for his first goal of the season and Hershey's first overtime victory.
Sunday's victory gives the Wildcats a 9-8-2 record and marks the first time this season that the Wildcats have been over .500. Attendance was 2,102 fans were on hand to witness the exciting victory.
Mitchell's goal and assist move him back into the league's scoring leaders. On Saturday the 22nd, the Wildcats head to Fortress Blackbaud for a rematch with the recently vanquished Battery.
