THE LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The Beloit College Buccaneers picked up their first win of the season today with a gritty, double-overtime win on the MBU campus.

It was a battle for a "first win", as neither team had made the breakthrough coming into today's game. After 103 minutes, Richard Thomas scored the golden goal for the Bucs.

THE OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 0-1 Beloit (2OT)
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 207
• Records: MBU (0-6-0), BC (1-5-1)

THE STORY

It was a cagey opening, as neither team threatened the goal in the first half. Early second-half chances fell to the feet of Nathan Campbell (for MBU) and Andrew Marchesi (for Beloit), but both goalkeepers came up big to keep the zeros on the scoreboard. Tyler Nelson had the next chance off a free kick from the corner of the box, but Alex Lyon came up big in the Beloit goal once again, making a diving save to his left.

The game was fairly open for the rest of the second half, but the breakthrough would not come. Andrew Taylor rose to the occasion once again in the goal, as he made five saves in the second half to keep the Bucs at bay. 

Sudden-death overtime was on the docket.

Beloit looked to be the more eager team during overtime, as they kept the ball in the Sabercats' end for the majority of the first period. Still, the Sabercat defense locked things down in the box and didn't concede a shot despite the constant pressure from the Bucs.

After 103 minutes of scoreless play, the game finally came to an end. And on the wrong end of the field. Beloit whipped in a corner kick that was deflected through a crowded goal area to the feet of Richard Thomas, who was at the corner of the six-yard box. From there, Thomas had the presence of mind to pick out the bottom-right corner to win the game for Beloit in dramatic fashion.

THE STATS

• Shot count: Beloit 14-12 Maranatha
• Campbell: 2 shots, both on goal
• Saves: Andrew Taylor made 6 saves in the contest
• Marathoners: Brendan Burckart, Zeke Steuerwald, Austin DeAngelo, and Caleb Hockema all played the entire game in the field for MBU.
• Series: the Bucs lead the all-time series, 5-3-0

THE OPPONENTS

• The Bucs compete in the Midwest Conference and were slated 8th in the preseason poll
• Yesterday, the Bucs battled to a 0-0 tie with Marian (NACC)
• Beloit has yet to complete a conference game, as they have opened the season with six games against NACC opponents

THE OUTLOOK

The Sabercats will travel to Ripon College to take on the Red Hawks at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday. Find details of the game at mbusabercats.com/composite.