WEST POINT, NY – Siena Men's Soccer (1-2) participated in its first overtime contest of the season Friday evening at Malek Stadium at Clinton Field, taking Army West Point down to the wire. Ultimately, the Black Knights (1-1) used a golden goal strike to take a 2-1 victory just prior to the end of the first overtime period.
Kicking off the teams' fourth matchup in as many years, Army West Point's Keenan O'Shea took a ball from inside the box from Sam Epitime in the eighth minute to get the home team on the board. The Black Knights held a 9-4 advantage in shots through the first half of play, while defense and physicality led to two cards being handed out to each squad throughout the night.
Holding to a 6-4 advantage in shots in the second half of play, the Saints looked to sophomore Aaron Martin to knot the match at one in the 68th minute. The 2018 MAAC All-Rookie Team selection used a deflection off a service into the right side of the box by junior Alejandro Riquelme to score the equalizer on a header for this first points of the season.
Following a pair of late-game saves from sophomore captain Greg Monroe, the Saints entered their first overtime match of the season. Army quickly took control of play on their home field, out-shooting Siena 6-1 and forcing Monroe to lay out twice to keep the game from ending. Army's Oscar Pereira did so by pushing a strike from beyond the 18-yard mark past Monroe and into the right side of the net.
Riquelme led the Saints with four shots in the loss, while Monroe tallied six saves in-goal.
Following the conclusion of a three-game road trip to start their 2019 season, Siena returns home on Sunday, September 8 to host NEC foe Bryant. Kickoff at Hickey Field is set for 1:00 p.m.
