GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior Steve Yeonas (McLean, Va.) scored his fifth goal of the season on a diving header in the 100th minute as the No. 6 Connecticut College men's soccer team rallied from behind to register a 2-1 overtime victory in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. With the victory, the Camels advanced to the championship match and will have the opportunity to win the school's first team national title in any sport on Saturday evening.

"That was as probably as even as two teams could be in the NCAA Tournament," said Reuben Burk, who is in his third season as the head coach and fourth with the program overall. "There wasn't much between the two teams at all, and Washington & Lee is a really, really tremendous team. That was a really 50/50 even game, so I think a lot of credit needs to go to Washington & Lee."

Connecticut College (18-4-1) utilized its possession-oriented style of play to begin the contest. The Camels attacked and threatened to score early, but they were called offsides twice. Washington & Lee had initial opportunities by most notably gaining a few free kicks from dangerous spots. However, both instances were read well by goalkeeper Sam Maidenberg (South Orange, N.J.) and the defense.
 
Only one shot was attempted between the two teams in the first 30 minutes, which was also off target. Sophomore Alessandro Horvath Diano (New Haven, Conn.) had a key slide tackle to break up a scoring chance from the top of the box, senior Lorenzo Bocchetti (Wilmington, Del.) blocked a blasted shot off the foot of John Peterson, and Maidenberg and junior Oliver Pinyochon (Newburyport, Mass.) broke up plays by to help keep the Generals off the board.
 
The chess match then ended in a scoreless deadlock with Washington & Lee holding a 3-0 advantage in shots and the Camels having a 3-2 edge in corner kick opportunities as well as possession for 53 percent of the time.
 
In the second half, senior MT Tshuma (Magwegwe, Zimbabwe) almost put the Camels on the board in the opening minutes. However, his spinning shot hit off the crossbar. Scoffone also got a good look that unfortunately sailed high moments later.
 
Washington & Lee (18-2-2) countered on the other end with offensive play picking up but came up empty. PJ Brown ripped a shot that went wide left, and a free kick straight on from 20 yards out bounced off the right post after barely clearing a wall of four Camel defenders. Connor Wharton then had the first shot on net for either side in the 69th minute on a low boot from about 10 yards out, and Maidenberg made a big save to keep the match scoreless.
 
But after another shot was saved by Maidenberg, the Generals finally broke through in the 74th minute. Grant McCarty found an open Adrian Zimmerman in the box, and the sophomore finished with a low shot for his record 11th goal of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Connecticut College controlled possession after the goal and had its chances, with NESCAC Player of the Year Augie Djerdjaj (Mahopac, N.Y.) nearly potting a free kick pass from the left corner. Then in the 83rd minute, they were rewarded for their efforts when Tshuma came through to tie the score. Evading three defenders in the process, Tshuma shot a bomb from more than 25 yards away that catapulted off the right post and into the net on a kick that Michael Nyc arguably had no chance to stop.
 
The match took another big turn that went the Camels' way when Michael Kutsanzira received a red card for taking down sophomore defender Jorge Mendo (Zaragoza, Spain) on the sideline deep in the team's defensive territory with 4:05 left. Washington & Lee still had an opportunity to win in regulation despite playing a man down when the squad was awarded a free kick from the left corner outside of the box in the final minute, but the low shot attempt found the wall of Camel defenders and was successfully cleared away to eventually force overtime.
 
In the first 10-minute extra session, the lack of urgency disappeared between the two teams and shot attempts were just 2-0 in favor of the Camels until the last minute. However, Connecticut College was able to get the golden goal it needed with 53.9 seconds on the clock when sophomore Rye Jaran crossed a ball from the left corner through traffic which Yeonas finished with a diving header on a back post run.

"When I joined the program as an assistant in 2018, we were highly competitive," explained Burk. "If you were to tell me back then that in 2021 we would be in the national championship (match), I would think that would be a little far-fetched. So to be where we are now definitely feels surreal."
 
Maidenberg earned his 16th win of the fall, which is a single-season school record, by making two stops which both came during the second half. Nyc was charged with the loss after failing to make a save the entire contest.

"It's remarkable where we are, and I think it's a direct correlation to our players' desire, commitment, and their self-belief," added Burk. "To make the jump from qualifying for NCAAs in 2018 to advancing to play for the national championship took a lot of self-belief. Day in and day out, guys like Steve, Augie, and MT have instilled that self-belief to the rest of our group that we are good enough and that we can get there."
 
The Camel men's soccer program will now aim to win the institution's first team national championship in any sport when it faces Amherst, which defeated Chicago by a 1-0 score in double overtime, tomorrow evening at 7 p.m.