Box Score NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Marcel Maddee' (Berlin, Germany/Gymnasium Villa Elisabeth) notched his first career two-goal performance to help Saint Peter's open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play with a 2-all draw against Niagara in men's soccer action on Saturday.
Maddee' found the twine in the 24th minute to tie the game at 1 and scored again in the 82nd minute to even the game at 2. After recording two goals and three assists last year, the junior leads the team with four tallies and four assists for 12 points after his first collegiate multi-goal performance.
Omar Crowl (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) assisted the first Maddee' marker for the Peacocks (2-4-3, 0-0-1 MAAC) while Carlos Suarez (Santa Cruz, Bolivia/St. Benedict's Prep) made 10 saves on the day.
Callum Willmott matched the two-goal performance for the Purple Eagles (2-6-1, 0-0-1 MAAC) while Julian Ekeze registered the assist on his second tally and Brenden Ottman had one stop on the standstill.
It was a two-man show in the league opener with Maddee' and Willmott trying to one-up the other after each player found the twine twice on the afternoon and the game ended in a 2-all standstill.
Willmott capitalized on a bad punt and found the back of the netting at the 22:29 mark to give Niagara a 1-0 lead.
It didn't take long for Saint Peter's to answer after Crowl fed Maddee' from 18-yards out one minute later to even the score. It was Crowl's first helper as a member of the team from Jersey City.
The Purple Eagles took a 2-1 lead going into halftime after Ekeze connected with Willmott with four minutes, 50 seconds left in the first half.
The score remained a one-goal margin until Maddee' found the back of the net from 15-yards in the low left corner to even the score at 2 and send the game to overtime.
After Maddee' tied the score at 2, both teams had chances to take the lead at the end of the second half but could not convert.
Crowl missed wide in the 84th minute for the Peacocks and freshman Lukas Binting (Berlin, Germany/Kant Gymnasium) hit the post off a Maddee' corner kick serve in the 86th minute. Niagara had one last chance in the 87th minute when Nicholas Watson had his scoring chance thwarted by Suarez.
Saint Peter's had the only three shots in the second overtime. Rafael Braga (Union, N.J./Union) (92nd minute) and Maddee' (94th and 98th minutes) all missed high to send the match to the second overtime session.
In the second overtime, Niagara registered five shots, including three shots on goal. Willmott had an attempt at a hat trick was turned away by Suarez in the 105th minute before Watson had two chances blocked by the Peacocks' defense in the 106th minute. Fernandez-Andersson (108th minute) and Tim Magnusson (110th minute) each had their shots go wide in the frame.
Saint Peter's had two shots in the stanza. Nick Sifrin (Schlangen, Germany/Gymnasium Paderborn) missed in the first minute of the second overtime while Fredy Umanzor (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) had a shot blocked by the Niagara defense with 41 seconds remaining.
It was only fitting that the Peacocks' first league game went into overtime after opening the season with an extra session contest. The squad has played five overtime games this season and three-straight matches. It marks the most overtime games in a season since the team played seven during the 2007 season and it also marks the first time since that season Saint Peter's has opened up play in the circuit with a draw.
The Peacocks started league play against the Purple Eagles for the fourth time, but it was the first time the two teams opened the MAAC against each other in Niagara University. The game also marked the first match between the two teams after last year's meeting in Jersey City was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Wednesday in the squad league home opener against Rider. Match time is 3 p.m.
