The Elon University men's soccer team lost 3-2 to Davidson College in double overtime at Rudd Field on Oct. 8. The Phoenix was hoping to carry over momentum from its 2-0 victory at Wofford College Oct. 4, but couldn't finish enough of its quality chances in front of the goal
"I thought we created many opportunities during the game," head coach Darren Powell said. "But when the chances presented themselves we didn't finish them."
Davidson struck first, as Jake Keator took a pass in the box and hit a low bullet past Phoenix goalkeeper Reed Dillard in the 43rd minute.
"You can look at the goals and be pretty disappointed with the way we conceded the goals tonight," Powell said.
Elon wasn't fazed, and responded in the 57th minute when sophomore defender Nick Butterly headed home a corner from junior midfielder Gabe Latigue. In the 86th minute, Elon answered another Wildcat goal when sophomore midfielder Daniel Lovitz took a deep ball down the right side of the field and beat the goalkeeper from about 18 yards out.
Davidson scored the deciding goal in the second overtime when Chris Pettiglio kicked home a loose ball following a Wildcat free kick in the 109th minute.
"We came back from two goals down twice," said senior midfielder and team co-captain Nick Millington. "It comes down to finishing our chances and the other team did in overtime".
The loss moves Elon to 3-7-1 overall, 1-2 in the Southern Conference, while the victory improves Davidson's record to 5-5-1 overall, 1-1 in the SoCon.
"They tried hard and we were trying to get the winning goal," Powell said. "And unfortunately when (the game) goes to overtime, (Davidson) gets one chance in the overtime period and they score, so there's no way we can recover from that."
Powell was encouraged by the team's resolve in the game, as the players didn't give up despite being behind for the majority of the match.
"The guys recovered twice from being a goal behind, so that's a very good sign," Powell said. "We're always looking for things to work on whether you win or you lose, and unfortunately we've lost again tonight."
The Phoenix travels to Greenville, S.C., for a 7 p.m. match on Saturday against SoCon foe Furman University. The Paladins are 1-1-1 in the conference and 9-2-3 overall. This puts them third in the SoCon, behind Georgia Southern University and Appalachian State University.
After Furman, the Phoenix faces Wake Forest University at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Winston-Salem. This is one of three ACC matchups for Elon, the final at Duke University Nov. 1.