Trailing Indianapolis 1-0 with time winding down in its Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) opener, Rockhurst men's soccer scored twice in a span of 15 minutes to turn a deficit into a 2-1 victory at Bourke Field Saturday (Sept. 5) night.
The Hawks' comeback began at when Mattia Petricca leveled the match off an assist from Daniele Ciancaglini at the 75 minute mark. Ozonna Ugbaja delivered the decisive blow, scoring just under five minutes to put Rockhurst in front for the first time.
From there, the Hawks held on through a frantic final four minutes to secure their first conference victory of the season. Rockhurst finished the night with a 15-10 advantage in shots, including a 6-5 edge in shots on goal, while both teams recorded four saves from their respective goalkeepers.
Neither team could break through during a tightly contested opening 45 minutes. Rockhurst produced eight shots in the first half compared to four from Indianapolis, but UIndy goalkeeper Rick Lammerts kept the Hawks off the scoreboard. Nicolas Schrag put an early attempt on target in the 12th minute, forcing Lammerts into a save, while Luke Strueby answered at the other end with a stop on Sam Siegel in the 28th minute. The Hawks continued to generate chances before halftime, with Rockhurst recording eight first-half shots and holding Indianapolis to four.
Still, the match went into halftime scoreless, but just 2:44 into the second half, Indianapolis' Joey Longo finished a pass from Owen Parrish to give the Greyhounds a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks continued to push forward, eventually turning their pressure into a series of dangerous opportunities. Making his collegiate debut, freshman goalkeeper Luke Strueby came up big in the second half, making two key saves and keeping Indianapolis off the scoreboard during a late push. Strueby turned away Keaton Barnhizer in the 66th minute and Hugo Paturel in the 71st minute, helping keep the Hawks within one heading into the final stages.
Then came the turning point where Rockhurst generated consecutive chances with Petricca forcing a save from Lammerts at before Connor Gaarder's attempt was also stopped just four seconds later. Ciancaglini then found Petricca off of a cross corner, who finished the opportunity to tie the match at 1-1.
The Hawks created another opportunity in the 79th minute when Gaarder forced another save from Lammerts. Four minutes later, Ciancaglini nearly gave Rockhurst the lead when his shot struck the woodwork at the 82nd minute mark. Ugbaja then found the back of the net off of a scramble in the box, putting Rockhurst ahead 2-1 and completing a comeback that had seemed unlikely just minutes earlier.
Rockhurst scored twice on its final six shots of the night, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory.
Petricca led the Hawks with three shots and two shots on goal, while Ugbaja recorded two shots, one shot on goal and the game-winning goal. Gaarder added two shots, both on target, and Ciancaglini finished with two shots while contributing the assist on Petricca's equalizer. Strueby finished with four saves in the victory, while Lammerts made four saves for Indianapolis.
The victory moves Rockhurst to 2-2-0 overall and 1-0-0 in GLVC play, while Indianapolis falls to 1-2-1 overall and 0-1-0 in conference action. They return to Bourke Field Wednesday (Sept. 9) at 7:30 PM.
