The matchup between two top-15 programs lived up to the hype on Saturday night as the No. 8 Emory Men's Soccer team erased a two-goal second half deficit to upend the No. 14 Washington & Lee University Generals, 5-4 in overtime, in an instant classic at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta, GA.
With the score tied at 4-4, senior Moustafa Khattab wasted no time in supplying the heroics for the Eagles as he one-timed an absolute rocket through a crowded box for the game winner in the second minute of overtime. The goal was the second for the forward on the campaign.
Senior Tyler Santee opened the scoring on the evening with a highlight reel goal of his own, netting an electric bicycle kick goal to open the scoring in the 15th minute.
How about this for a bicycle kick?! @ESPNAssignDesk @D3_soccer @NewsUAA #FlyHigher #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/cxytD2HGxC
— Emory Athletics (@EmoryAthletics) September 2, 2018
The lead was short lived however, as the Generals tied the game with a response by Tyler Runge just 48 seconds later. Runge added to his ledger in the 24th minute with his second goal of the contest before Harris Salom made it 3-1 W&L in the 26th minute.
Emory answered with authority in the second half, scoring three straight goals beginning with freshman Will Tichy's first career marker in the 56th minute. Junior Jun Tsuru sent a centering pass to the right side where Tichy one-timed it past the Generals' keeper, freezing him in his tracks.
Sophomore Josh Berman evened the score in the 65th minute, heading in a Tsuru corner kick for the first goal of his career. Freshman Ethan Cohen followed it up with the go-ahead goal in the 74th, beating the W&L goalkeeper on a one-on-one fast break opportunity.
Griffin Scott foiled the Eagles' chance of winning in regulation, scoring the equalizer with just over eight minutes remaining in the second half. Khattab's game winner in overtime marked the 11th game-winning goal of his career and second of 2018.
The win gave the Eagles their second straight Sonny Carter Invitational title and 11th overall in the history of the tournament. Khattab was one of five Eagles to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Full list of the Sonny Carter Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP - Moustafa Khattab, Emory
Tyler Santee, Emory
Jun Tsuru, Emory
Ethan Cohen, Emory
Max Mehlman, Emory
Kevin Lencioni, W&L
Tyler Runge, W&L
Will Rawson, W&L
Jack Miller, W&L
Christian Waeglin, OU
Andrew Grodhaus, OU
Trent Ivery, HSU
The Eagles look to stay unbeaten in the early stages of the season next weekend as Emory travels to north for the Ciallella Classic at Rutgers-Camden in Camden, NJ.