Booth earns all three points for Bulldogs in 2-1 double OT win

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After falling in a double-overtime affair in their last outing, the Bryant University men's soccer team did not want it to happen again and their captain, Charlie Booth (Concord, Mass.), made sure it did not with a 103rd minute strike to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 victory over Sacred Heart on Sunday afternoon.

Game Information

Bryant 2, Sacred Heart 1 (2OT)

Records: Bryant 2-8-2 (2-1-1 NEC), Sacred Heart 3-10-1 (0-3-1)

Location: Bulldog Soccer Field

Coach Purcell's Comments

"John Conry (Bolton, Mass.) came up to me at the start of overtime and said 'coach I think we should go back to a 3-5-2' and I said you're right. When one of your seniors comes up to you and says something, it just clicks and I said 'you're right' and after that, we were able to get control of the midfield again and get balls forward and we were causing trouble. I'll give this one to John … It was like finishing a race. We just had to get there. We kept putting them on their heels and we had to capitalize on their mistakes and it's good to see that."

Key Moment

• In the 103^rd minute, right before the goal, the Bulldogs were able to earn possession back and push towards the Pioneers' back line, eventually drawing a foul just outside the penalty area, setting up the final sequence.

Scoring Summary

• 6^th minute – Bryant 1, Sacred Heart 0 – After a long throw-in by James Cochrane (Sandy Hook, Conn.) into the box, a scrum ensued and the ball deflected off Sacred Heart's keeper and to the foot of Anthony Barreira (Foxboro, Mass.), who was waiting at the far post to finish on an open net.
• 78^th minute – Bryant 1, Sacred Heart 1 – Julian Linke tied it up for Sacred Heart after he got on the end of a long ball into the box and headed it over the head of Nick Stewart (South Windsor, Conn.) and into the far post netting.
• 103^rd minute – Bryant 2, Sacred Heart 1 – After the foul was given, Felipe Cypriano (Malden, Mass.) played a ball that had to be punched by the Sacred Heart keeper, but it went straight to Booth who was able to settle it on a bounce and fire it far post to win it for Bryant.

Stats/Notes

• The Bulldogs have already matched their total number of conference wins (2) from a season ago and eclipsed 2015's mark.
• Barreira and Booth became the fourth and fifth different goalscorers for Bryant this season. For all five, it was their first career strike.
• The Black and Gold recorded 13 shots on the night, their second-highest mark of the year.
• Bryant won their third straight match with Sacred Heart in Smithfield.
• Seamus Purcell's club has their highest total of points (7) at the halfway mark of the conference season since 2014.

Up Next

Bryant takes a trip to the Big Apple for two games with NEC contenders, matching up with LIU Brooklyn on Friday and St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday.