The DePauw men's soccer team came out on top in their fifth overtime game of the season against No. 15 ranked Ohio Wesleyan.
The Tigers improved to 7-1-3 and 2-1-1 in North Coast Athletic Conference play with the 3-2 overtime victory over Ohio Wesleyan, ranked No. 15 team in the country according to D3soccer.com.
With the heart of conference season well under way, the Tigers made big strides as a team to improve as one of the elite programs in conference, and should be recognized nationally. The Tigers defeated the Battling Bishops in a hard-fought game that DePauw head coach Brad Hauter was pleased with.
"We stuck to the game plan, and we did a nice job overcoming some challenges in the game," Hauter said. "We had a couple of opportunities that we could have disconnected, but we didn't, and I'm very pleased with that."
The Tigers fell behind after the Battling Bishops scored at in the 51st minute, but freshman Alieu Musa was able to put away the first of his two goals on the day in the 58th minute. Sophomore Nate Snyder gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead on junior George Elliot's second assist on the day three minutes after Musa, but the Battling Bishops were able to tie it until Alieu Musa was able to score in the first overtime period to end the game after 98:21 minutes of play.
"We were working our butts off to pull out that victory," Musa said. "I thought we were competitive with them the whole game, but we were able to work harder than they did."
Coach Hauter thinks the team did a good job beating the Battling Bishops defense.
"We knew that they were going to come at us, and when they do they will expose themselves in the back," Hauter said. "When we win that ball we have to counter quickly."
Hauter is pleased with the teams play recently and wants it to transfer into the rest of the season.
"It was a great victory, but we will see them down the road again at some point, if it isn't in the conference tournament we might see them in the national tournament," he said. "It was a good win, and let's get back to work to be sure we are ready for them when we see them again."
Ohio Wesleyan outshot the Tigers 26-17, but the Tigers held the advantage in corner kicks 6-5.
"To put three goals away against a team like Ohio Wesleyan gives us confidence going forward," Musa said.
The team is currently in the heart of its conference schedule and is next in action on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Wittenberg University at Boswell Field.