A late game comeback produced an overtime road victory for the Wilmington University men's soccer team, 2-1, at Dowling on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats (3-1 overall) needed a penalty kick with 1:28 remaining in regular to tie the match before defeating Dowling (1-2-1) with a goal in the 98th minute.
"I'm really proud of how we conducted ourselves in the comeback win," head coach Nick Papanicolas said. "We really played with urgency in the second half. The game was very emotional and intense and we handled ourselves well."
Following a red card on Dowling in their own 18-yard box, junior Lance Berry converted his second penalty kick of the season 88:32 into the match to tie the game and force an overtime period.
Dowling got a shot off to start the overtime period, but it was blocked before it ever reached Frank Hall and the Wilmington goalmouth.
Once in the offensive zone, the Wildcats' Femi Akintunde played an overlapping Bruno Montini down into the corner. Montini sent a driven ball across to a streaking Jamie Burridge who buried the header for the game winner. Burridge, who entered the overtime period just 1:53 prior to the goal, tallied his first career goal as a Wildcat in walk-off fashion.
In a game that featured seven yellow cards and a second yellow card to Dowling's Alex Hailes which resulted in a red card, the Wildcats kept their cool to come away with a nonconference victory. The Wildcats outshot the Golden Lions, 12-5, while the corner kicks were even, 6-6.
Dowling got on the board first with a goal in the 54th minute. Mike Gronenthal found the ball in the box after a corner for the home team; beating Hall it put the Golden Lions on the board.
The Wildcats continue their six games in 10-day stretch on Tuesday when they begin their 2014 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference schedule against Holy Family. The matchup is set for a 4 p.m. start.