Shelby Hild (Missouri State Sports Information) TULSA, Okla. – Jake Buckle’s golden goal helped the Missouri State men’s soccer team (8-5-2) close its non-conference slate with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (6-8-2) at Case Soccer Complex on Tuesday (Oct. 25).
MSU’s Nick Burtenshaw started the action early for the Bears, firing the first shot of the match at the 32-second mark, sending the ball into the hands of ORU’s goalkeeper, Thibaut Giquel.
In the 11th minute of the match, Missouri State was called for a foul in the box, setting up a penalty kick for the Golden Eagles. ORU’s Matthew Rogers converted the penalty goal to give the home team the early 1-0 lead.
Sophomore Harry Lewis took back-to-back shot attempts, hitting the crossbar each time, before the ball fell into the feet of Jack Griffin. The senior blasted the ball from 25 yards out, netting his first goal of the season in the 22nd minute.
Six Bears had a shot in the first half, aiding in MSU’s 7-3 shot advantage going into the locker room. MSU goalkeeper, Liam Priestley, rejected two of the three shots taken by ORU to prevent the Golden Eagles from going ahead.
The MSU defense continued to stand firm in the second half, blocking all four of Oral Roberts’ shots that were taken. Four of the Bears’ eight second-half shots came in the final four minutes of regulation, including two from Jake Buckle. Griffin took the final shot of regulation, but was blocked by three ORU defenders to send the match into overtime.
In the 93rd minute of the match, Stuart Wilkin darted up the far side of the field to receive a pass across the box from Griffin. The newcomer slid down to kick it through the top of the net, but ORU’s Giquel jumped up to tip it up and over the crossbar. Wilkin struck again in the 97th minute, but sent the ball into the hands of Giquel, to take the match into double-overtime for the fourth-consecutive meeting between the two clubs.
It wasn’t until the 108th minute of the match, when Burtenshaw found Buckle on the run towards the net. Burtenshaw fired the ball across the box to an open Buckle, who powered the ball past Giquel to give the Bears the 2-1 victory over the Golden Eagles. MSU hasn’t lost when going to at least one overtime since the Bears fell, 1-0, at Oral Roberts in 2014.
Missouri State will play its final home match of the regular season against Evansville on Saturday (Oct. 29) at 7 p.m. The match between the Bears and the Purple Aces has been tabbed “Salute to America’s Heroes” night, where the MSU men’s soccer team will be playing in memory of Captain Aaron Eidem, who passed away last February in a tragic accident while helping a stranded motorist on Interstate 44. There will be free entry to the match for all first responders (medical, law enforcement and military) with a valid I.D.
