Jeff Yoder |Echo
Taylor men's soccer suffered a heartbreaking loss on Wednesday night as the Trojans fell to the Bethel Pilots 3-2 in overtime.
"We obviously played hard," head coach Gary Ross said. "Every conference match we play is just a lot of hard work. Every team just keeps getting better and better so we have to continue to work harder and harder. At the end of the day you have to do the small things well."
The Trojans dominated possession early and got some good looks on corner kicks that couldn't quite find the back of the net. After the early part of the first half, play evened out.
Bethel ended up with an easy look from about six yards for a 1-0 Pilot lead in the 37th minute that would hold up until halftime.
Both teams were very active early in the second half as Bethel scored a goal in the 50th minute that was called offside. Less than a minute later, Taylor junior goalkeeper Michael Williams made a diving save as he got bumped at the edge of the box. His body fell just outside while he was still holding the ball. The play led to a handball call. The Trojans defended the ensuing free kick and immediately went the other direction with a counter-attack that ended with junior Danny Cawley's left-footed attempt hitting the crossbar.
In the 60th minute, Bethel made another free kick that Williams tipped out for one of his six saves of the night. Again, the Trojans defended on the corner kick and took it the other direction. This time, junior forward Tim Daniels finished off an assist from Cawley to tie the game at 1-1.
Bethel regained momentum as they nailed a 25-yard shot to the upper left corner in the 71st minute that surprised both the Taylor defense and the crowd at New Stadium.
Taylor didn't take long to respond as freshman Nate West capitalized in the 75th minute from a Tim Miller header to knot it up at 2-2.
A pair of Bethel corner kicks in the final minute gave the Taylor fans a small scare, but the Trojans defended well leading into overtime.
Near the end of the first overtime period, it seemed neither team was going to budge. In the 97th minute, Williams came out to clear a ball played by Bethel. The decision was good, but the clear was short, and Bethel's Ricardo Zambonino scored on an open net from about 40 yards out.
Taylor recorded 14 shots to Bethel's 16. The Trojans put six attempts on goal while the Pilots fired nine shots on frame.
Taylor plays again tomorrow as they host Mount Vernon Nazarene at 7 p.m.
Photography by Timothy P. Riethmiller
