GENEVA, N.Y. – Less than a minute from its biggest victory of the season, the Union College men's soccer team settled for a heartbreaking 1-1 tie with #9 Hobart College in its penultimate game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Cozzens Field.
The tie is a huge blow to the postseason chances of Union (8-8-2, 2-5-1 Liberty League), as the Garnet Chargers fall into 10th place in the conference standings and would need four results to go their way next weekend to sneak into the postseason. Hobart (10-2-3, 3-2-3 Liberty League) remains tied for second in the conference with the draw.
The teams combined for 12 shots in a scoreless first half, with Hobart edging Union in shots by a 7-5 margin. First-year
Michael Karcher made two saves for Union in less than 10 minutes in his time replacing junior
Dmitri Wild-Arons, who was injured in the first half but came back later in the frame. Hobart's Jake Hans needed to make four saves in the opening half to keep the match scoreless.
The Statesmen increased their offensive pressure in the second half, but Wild-Arons made six saves to keep the match level.
After managing one on-target attempt over the half's first 41 minutes, the Garnet Chargers finally broke through in the 84th minute. After a long ball was trapped down by a Hobart player, junior
Eamonn Kelley dispossessed him of the ball and went in on goal, slotting the ball under the keeper for his fifth goal of the season.
After another save by Wild-Arons to keep Union ahead, Union was 42 seconds away from a victory when Hobart was gifted a penalty kick after a pushing call in the box on an attempted bicycle kick. Brady Leitner scored from the spot to knot the score to the disbelief of the Union players and fans.
The match was not over, however, as first-year
Joseph Carofano served up a free kick in the waning seconds that Hans needed to desperately parry over the bar to keep the match tied.
Hobart ended the day with a 21-12 advantage in shots, with Wild-Arons (seven) and Karcher (two) combining for nine saves and Hans stopping six for Hobart.
Union will close out the regular season on Saturday, as the team celebrates Senior Day before a 2 p.m. match against St. Lawrence University at College Park Field.
