The intermission music was tacky, the officiating questionable, and Louisville looked defeated for most of the second half after Bradley forward Scott Davis scored his first career goal in the 54th minute. Then things got interesting.
With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, a Colin Rolfe goal tied the match at 1-1. Another goal by Kenney Walker followed some 44 seconds later to put a cap on what looked like another furious comeback win for Ken Lolla's side. Bradley wasn't convinced. Braves forward Bryan Gaul evened the game 2-2 with just 26 seconds left, which sent the game into consecutive 10-minute sudden death overtime periods.
And with 2:18 left in the second overtime, this happened:
I love Louisville soccer, and I had a blast following them to the College Cup in Santa Barbara last year, but it'd be nice if just once they could win an NCAAT game without any drama. Just sayin'.
The twelfth-seeded Cards, who are 6-3 on the road, will travel to Ludwig Field in College Park, Marlyand next Sunday to face the fifth-seeded Terrapins, who out-classed West Virginia 4-0 earlier today. Maryland is 14-0-1 at home this season, with the lone tie (1-1) coming vs. Wake Forest, whom Louisville beat 2-0 on the road earlier this year.
Including Wake Forest, Louisville and Maryland share four common opponents in 2011. Maryland beat St. John's 3-0 in Maryland, handled Rutgers 2-1 at home, and tied North Carolina 1-1 in Chapel Hill. Louisville lost to St. John's 0-1 in New York, tied Rutgers 1-1 at home, and lost at North Carolina 1-2.
Maryland and Louisville also share history with a player, Terrapins sophomore forward Sunny Jane (no relation to Will Stein). Jane is originally from Lesotho, South Africa and played his high school footy at Trinity and club ball at United 1996 FC, the same club current Cardinals midfielder Ryan Smith (St. Xavier), back-up goalkeeper Zach Torp and defender Andrew Farrell (Atherton HS) hail from. Jane, who was once ranked the #10 recruit in the nation at Trinity, leads the Terrapins this season in assists (8) and is third in points (10). Here's a link to a great story on Jane: A Sight To See.
Pretty solid little weekend.