Courtesy of UR Athletics
The Carnegie Mellon University Tartans had many reasons to be confident as they suited up for their match-up against the ’Jackets on Friday, Oct. 12.
Ranked fifth in the nation at kickoff time, the Tartans toted an 8-1-1 record on the season, including a convincing win over national powerhouse Washington University in St. Louis (2-0) and a 6-2 throttling of Bethany College. Moreover, led by reigning University Athletic Association (UAA) player of the week and defender Ben Bryant, Carnegie Mellon entered the game undefeated both in UAA play and at home all season.
After a grueling one-hour, 47-minute marathon with the visiting yellow and blue, both streaks came to an end, as UR upended the Tartans, 3-2, in double overtime. The win marked the third straight match the Yellowjackets played to double overtime, after the team fought to draws with currently No. 9 Brandeis University on Sept. 29 and No. 20 New York University on Oct. 6, both UAA rivals.
Sophomore forward Jack Thesing was the man of the hour for the ’Jackets, scoring his second of two goals at 1:07:44 to both tame the Tartans and give the visitors their first conference win. Sophomore forward Alex Swanger made a cross to a charging Thesing. The ball eluded Carnegie goalkeeper Christopher Madden, and Thesing slid toward goal to knock the ball into an empty net.
The goal put the finishing touch on a game that had seen both sides dominate play for one half of regulation.
UR dominated the first 45 minutes, as they outshot Carnegie 7-4 and jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Just 3:07 into the game, sophomore forward Nick Pastore received an airborne cross from fellow sophomore forward Alex Swanger, and promptly converted it to put UR up 1-0. Seventeen minutes later, Thesing upped the ante to 2-0 when he charged at and won a 50-50 decision with Madden, depositing the ball into the empty net.
Flashing the resilience that has made them a serious contender for the UAA and national championship titles, however, the Tartans roared back with two goals of their own, amid a flurry of 11 shots, to the ’Jackets’ four.
The teams dueled back and forth throughout the first period of overtime with no goals to show for it, but seven minutes into the second overtime, Thesing delivered and gave UR the 3-2 win.
The Yellowjackets are idle until Sunday, Oct. 21, when they face the Kean University Cougars in Union, N.J.
Bernstein is a member of the class of 2014.
