Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The rowdy crowd that lined the Rudd Field fence was rewarded as it saw Elon’s Stephen Dilger notch the game-tying goal with 14 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime against the visiting West Virginia Mountaineers. After 110 minutes, Elon and WVU played to a 1-1 draw in front of nearly 1,000 fans in Wednesday night non-conference men’s soccer action.

As the seconds ticked down in regulation, Elon had a last grasp at a goal as Gabe Latigue lined up for a corner kick. His serve was headed around before falling loose in the box. Dilger sent the short shot into the right corner of the net with 14 ticks on the clock to knot the game and send it into extra minutes.

Elon improved to 4-2-4 on the season while West Virginia moved to 5-3-2 overall. The game mirrored last season’s contest at WVU when Elon scored in the final minute of regulation to force overtime and earn a draw.

“This was a good result against very good West Virginia team,” said Elon head coach Darren Powell. “It was another intense game of soccer where our guys showed some great character to come back with only seconds on the clock. We have to get better week by week and get ready for a very good College of Charleston team on Saturday.”

West Virginia’s Eric Schoenle was given a red card following the Phoenix score so West Virginia played the remaining minutes a man down. Neither team managed any legitimate chances in the first 10-minute overtime period, but WVU’s Allan Flott nearly put in the golden goal with a header off a late corner kick in the final OT. Phoenix keeper Clint Irwin was there to pull down the shot and secure the tie.

After a slow first period, the Phoenix came out with momentum in the second half, getting some good early chances. Less than five minutes into the final period, Latigue came down the left side of the field and served the ball into the box. Forward Chris Thomas got a head on it but his shot went straight into the hands of WVU keeper Zach Johnson. Less than a minute later, Elon’s James Carroll sent a rocket at the net, but his shot from the top of the box sailed just wide of the post.

Thomas had another header in the 53rd minute but it went high of the net. Minutes later, an Elon free kick at the top of the box taken by Daniel Lovitz got through the WVU wall but Johnson was there to scoop up the ball.

Despite Elon’s chances, it was the Mountaineers who got on the board first. At 61:11, West Virginia was awarded a free kick deep in its own territory. Abel Sebele fired a ball into the box and found the head of Schoenle who flicked the ball into the far side of the net for his second score of the year.

The visitors had the quicker step following the goal, making the Elon back line work to keep it a one-goal game. The Elon defense was able to block away several attempts and Irwin had a strong night with five saves.

Elon nearly got on the board with under 10 minutes to play on a Latigue free kick at the top of the box but his attempt went just over the cross bar. With seven minutes remaining, Dilger got a quick shot off a bouncing ball in the box but a diving save by Johnson kept Elon off the board.

West Virginia finished with a 17-11 advantage in shots and a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.

Elon will get back into Southern Conference action when College of Charleston visits Rudd Field on Saturday night at 7 p.m.