Lynchburg mens soccer advances to ODAC finals with OT thriller over Marlins

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — University of Lynchburg men's soccer senior Zach Whelan scored in the 102nd minute in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference semifinals to lift the Hornets past Va. Wesleyan Wednesday night.

Nearly 100 minutes before Whelan's game-winner, Luke Mega put the Hornets on the board first. The All-American netted his 54th-career goal cutting in from the far sideline.

Despite putting four more shots on frame afterwards, Lynchburg's lead only lasted until the 34th minute. Ilan Meija dribbled uncontested to the top of the box and placed a shot past Lynchburg's keeper Thomas Viscuso. Neither team took another shot in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

The Hornets nearly found the tiebreaker in the 56th minute. Liam Lovell's initial shot was saved and ricocheted out to Whelan. The senior fired a shot on the rebound, but Va. Wesleyan's Jamarhe Wills was in the perfect spot on the far post ready to deny the chance.

Lovell and Whelan would both get their chance for redemption later in the match.

First, it was Lovell streaking up the sideline. He lost the ball momentarily as he knifed through the defense, but Trevor Miller got Lovell back on track tapping the fleeting ball back to the graduate student. Lovell released the shot from distance, and Va. Wesleyan's keeper, Jordan Smith (who had already left and reentered the game for a possible head injury), dropped to his knees to make the save. However, Lovell's shot slowly crept through Smith's legs putting Lynchburg back up top 2-1 in the 62nd minute. It was Lovell's first goal of the season.

The Marlins were unable to put too much pressure on the Hornets as they scrambled for an equalizer once more. The Marlins had two shots, and Viscuso saved the only one on frame.

The Marlins did not need a flurry of chances to force overtime though. With less than three minutes to play, Nate Mitchell took advantage of a loose ball in front of Lynchburg's net and knocked in a late goal to tie things up 2-2.

Carter Averette took the final shot of regulation after the Marlins' second goal but was off target.

Lynchburg prepared for its first overtime period since November 2021 in the NCAA tournament. However, the Hornets hoped for a different result than the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Hanover that night.

Both teams took early shots in the first overtime but came up empty-handed.

Just over a minute and half into the second overtime, Manzi Shalita found Seth Dale on the other side of the box to set up Whelan's goal. Dale surveyed the scene and found Whelan with a cross just as the senior began his run.

After celebrating the third go-ahead goal of the night, Lynchburg still needed to fend off the Marlins for the remainder of the second overtime.

Viscuso made his third save of the night as the Hornets did just that and almost added some insurance with two corners and two more shots.

When the clock showed 00:00 for the fourth and time of the evening, both the Hornets and their supporters rushed the field in celebration of Lynchburg's seventh ODAC championship appearance in the last decade.

The Hornets (14-3-2, 6-2-1 ODAC) will take on the winner of Washington and Lee and Shenandoah on Sunday, Nov. 5.