The Elon University men's soccer team fought its way back from a 2-0 deficit against Old Dominion University and forced the nation's 11th-ranked team into an overtime period before losing 3-2 in an exciting finish Saturday night at Rudd Field.
The comeback comes just one game before the team must begin its Southern Conference schedule.
After trailing at halftime, the Phoenix came back to tie the game with goals by senior midfielder James Carroll and freshman defender Tommy Allen. Allen's goal in the 89th minute, the first of his Elon career, capped off an attacking second half for Elon and sent the game into overtime.
Old Dominion's junior forward Yannick Smith scored the game-winning goal in the 94th minute as his shot beat Elon's sophomore goalkeeper Reed Dillard at the near post.
"It was a tough loss, but I think our team did well to fight back and tie it up," Carroll said. "I think it's one of the better games we've played this year, so I'm proud of us for fighting through and coming back. We got a little unlucky with the finish, but I will give credit to ODU. They finished their chances."
Elon's record is now 2-4-1 on the season, while Old Dominion remains undefeated at 4-0-0.
Phoenix head coach Darren Powell said his team played well and showed improvement from the early part of the season.
"The guys delivered some good balls that were dangerous, and they created first and second chances," Powell said. "You're not always going to score on the first chance, but the second chances create panic among their defenders, and that was working."
Powell also credited the team for showing good character during the comeback and said he believes the game proved Elon can play with the top teams in the country.
"We've just got to learn as a team that we can compete with anybody and we've got to find a way to win these narrow margin games," Powell said.
This was the second ranked team the team has played — the first being then-No. 21-ranked UNC Charlotte Sept. 9.
The Phoenix will play its next game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Radford University. The team will return home the following weekend to open SoCon play when it hosts Appalachian State University at 7 p.m. Oct. 1.
Powell said in preparation for its upcoming games, the team needs to work on improving in all aspects of the game. This includes things like generatingmore effective deliveries and creating better goal scoring opportunities in the attacking third as well as staying in position defensively.
The team also hopes to improve on finishing its chances in upcoming matches, Carroll said.
"We had a lot more chances in that game we could have scored," he said. "If you put those in then maybe we're walking away with a win."
The Phoenix has already shown progression from the start of the season to this point, according to Powell.
"We're improving, which is a very positive sign," he said. "We just have to get ready for next weekend."