Army Captures Comeback Win over American

Saturday, November 4

Washington, D.C.

2 p.m.

Army West Point

9-6-2, 3-4-2PL

American

4-12-1, 3-6-0PL

ARMY

American

Army Captures Comeback Win over American

November 04, 2017 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Trailing by a pair of goals in the second half, the Army West Point men's soccer team strung together three unanswered scores to rally back and defeat American 3-2 in a Patriot League match on Saturday afternoon at Reeve's Field.

"Offensively, today, we played the way we have played for three quarters of the season," head coach Russell Payne said. "I am very proud of this team to recapture that form, spirit and execution of attack. We continue to be a very dominant team and that is going to bode well for us in the future. It was an excellent way to send off our five seniors who have given so much of themselves to this program."

The tremendous come-from-behind win was Army's ninth victory of the season and third in Patriot League action. However, with Colgate winning on Friday night against Boston U., the Black Knights' quest for another postseason appearance was cut short. Army finished the year in the seventh spot in the league standings.

Despite trailing for much of the contest, Army had no issues creating opportunites on the offensive end. American's goalkeeper, John Mino, was up for the challenge though and made 10 saves in the game, the third-most by a Patriot League keeper this season. The Cadets compiled 28 shots, compared to American's four, and also recorded nine corners.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Rex Epps tallied his team-best eighth goal of the season and 19th of his career.
The sophomore led the team in scoring and points for the second straight year.
Okheem Riley scored his first goal of the season.
Riley's score was his first career game winner.
Alex Grave de Peralta scored the second goal of his career.
Christian Nolasco appeared in goal for the Black Knights for the first time this year.
Army improved to 6-0 when scoring multiple goals in a game.
The Cadets' 28 shots was a season-high and the most in the Russell Payne era.
The 28 shots were also the second-most by a Patriot League team this season.
Army has eclipsed the 20-shot mark four times this year.
The Black Knights outshot the opposition in 16 of 17 outings during the 2017 campaign.
It was the 15th time that Army reached double-digit shots in a single game this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Within the first 11 minutes of action, American got on the board. Andreas Djurhuus sent a ball to Nick Dimitrijevic and he beat a pair of Army defenders and put a shot into the lower right corner to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage.
American extended its lead to two early in the second stanza. Dmitrijevic went to take a shot, but it was deflected. However, Max Holdsworth took advantage of the rebound opportunity and scored.
Less than two minutes later, the Black Knights got a corner and after it was inserted into the box, the Eagles failed to clear it and Grave de Peralta made them pay with a shot and score to trim the deficit to one.
In the 64th minute, Epps struck again and put in the equalizer with a shot past the goalkeeper to the low right side.
The Black Knights continued to apply a ton of pressure on the American defense and in the 77th minute, took the lead. A mishandled ball by an American defender in the box turned out to be costly as Riley put the loose ball into the back of the net for the game-winning score.