Princeton upends Rosewood in OT

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 16, 2012 1:48 PM

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PRINCETON -- The role of spoiler can be tough for some teams to embrace.

Not for the Princeton soccer team.

The Bulldogs are not going to win the Carolina 1-A Conference title. On Monday night, they made sure that their rivals from Rosewood were not going to win it, either.

Vicente Mendez scored two goals and Princeton dropped Rosewood 2-1 in double overtime.

"This was one of those games where we knew it was going to be physical," Princeton head coach Eusebio Montoya said. "I was glad to see my guys kept their composure for the most part and I feel like we earned the win."

Rosewood opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Marquail Almontser collected a crossing pass by Dee Mabry and booted a shot into the back of the net.

The game remained 1-0 in the Eagles' favor until the 68th minute. Mendez took a direct kick from 22 yards out and placed it perfectly just out of the reach of Rosewood keeper Daniel Herring to tie the game.

"The first time we played (Princeton) we won the game 1-0," Rosewood head coach Eddie Maldonado said. "I told the guys before tonight's game that if we let them hang around bad things could happen."

The Eagles got a good break in the 71st minute when a handball in the 18-yard box by a Princeton defender gave Rosewood a free kick. Reed Howell took the shot for the visitors, but his attempt hit Princeton keeper Will Toler in the chest without moving.

The clock ran out on 80 minutes of regulation and sent the teams to overtime.

Rosewood controlled the first 10 minutes of extra time and got a golden scoring chance when Thanh Truong took a shot from just inside the 18-yard box. The shot hit the post and sent the game to double overtime.

"We certainly had chances to win the game," Maldonado said. "A few inches one way or another and the outcome could have been very different."

During the second overtime, Princeton caught its big break. A handball in the box gave the Bulldogs a penalty kick in the 98th minute. Mendez made the most of the chance and fired a shot into the top right corner of the net.

The game-winning goal was the Bulldogs' only shot of the two overtime periods.

Princeton (7-8-3 overall, 2-3-1 CC) plays Goldsboro on Wednesday, while Rosewood (11-6-0, 4-2-0) plays host to Ayden-Grifton on Oct. 22.