Courtesy of Lees-McRae Sports InformationBANNER ELK, N.C. – Lee Squires scored the golden goal in the 91st minute as the Lees-McRae College Bobcats defeated the Anderson University Trojans 3-2 in the 2009 NCAA Tournament’s Southeast Regional at Tate Field Sunday afternoon in an overtime thriller.
With the win, Lees-McRae improves to 17-2-1 overall and will advance to the Elite Eight of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, which will be held at Tate Field Saturday, November 21st at 7 p.m. against the South Region winner Tampa. The Bobcats made it to the Elite Eight in 2007, but suffered a 2-0 loss. Anderson, who made its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and Sweet Sixteen appearance, ends their season at 13-4-3 overall.
Anderson’s Lasse Sohrweide opened the scoring in the 17th minute off a corner kick from Paulo Passini to give the Trojans the 1-0 lead, but Lees-McRae’s David Palmer responded in the 22nd minute cross from Jamie Price that Richard Guffens flick onto Palmer’s head for the one-timer and to tie the match at one.
After the intermission, it was Lees-McRae’s Squires that broke the tie with his goal in the 73rd minute. Palmer crossed the ball to Squires, who was all-alone on the back post for the goal to make it 2-1, but Anderson would answer in the 90th minute to the tie the match.
With 29 seconds left in the second half, Anderson took a free kick from just inside midfield that was cleared for a throw-in. On the throw-in, the ball bounced around and was eventually headed in by Anderson’s keeper Lukas Hesse, who had left his net with time running down, to tie the match at two and force overtime.
In overtime, it was the 2009 Southeast Regional Offensive MVP, Lee Squires, who ended the match 59-seconds into the extra period with his second goal of the day and third goal of the regional.
The goal was set up when, Southeast Regional Defensive MVP, Sean Paradise, took a free kick from just outside the Lees-McRae 18-yard box. Luke Perry brought the kick down at the top of the Anderson penalty area and played a through pass to Squires, who struck it near post for the game winner.
Lees-McRae outshot Anderson 16-12, but Anderson held a 6-3 corner kick advantage.
Joining Squires, the offensive MVP, and Paradise, the defensive MVP, on the 2009 Southeast Region All-Tournament Team is Carson-Newman’s Ben Backstrom, Wingate’s Luke Mulholland, Anderson’s Sohrweide, Adrien Moufflet, Hesse and Passini and Lees-McRae’s Guffens, Palmer and Jamie Price.
