MADISON, N.J. - Matthew Agudelo picked an opportune time to score his first two collegiate goals.
The sophomore found the back of the net twice and drilled in a golden goal with 2:54 left in the second overtime, lifting the Drew University men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Elizabethtown College in the semifinals of the Landmark Conference (LC) Championships Tuesday evening at a frigid Ranger Stadium.
With just over three minutes remaining, senior
Ryan LaRocca launched a throw-in from the right corner and into the box. After it bounced off several players, junior
Patrick Catillo got a foot on it for the Rangers, slipping the ball to Agudelo, who was wide open on the left side. He one-timed it high into the net, setting off a wild celebration on the field.
With the win, Drew's fifth in a row, the second-seeded Rangers (9-7-1) march into the Landmark Conference championship match, where it will take on top-seeded Catholic University on Saturday at 4 p.m.
The match followed nearly an identical script as the previous meeting between the two teams in Ranger Stadium back on Oct. 23, when Drew scored late before Elizabethtown tied it to force overtime, when the Rangers eventually won.
This time around, Agudelo scored directly on a corner kick in the 68th minute before the Blue Jays (9-6-2) tied it in the 84th minute. But with less than three minutes left before penalty kicks, Agudelo settled it for the Rangers, sending Drew to its first Landmark Conference final since 2017.
Senior
Calum Erlenborn stood tall in net once again for the Rangers, tying a career high for the second game in a row with six saves. Kelvin Del Cid also made six stops for the Blue Jays.
There were few scoring chances in the opening half, when Elizabethtown outshot the Rangers 6-1. The Blue Jays' Cade Brubaker blasted a close-range free kick in the 40th minute, but it was saved by Erlenborn, who collected two of his stops in the opening period.
The Rangers nearly broke through in the 55th minute, when Agudelo sent a perfect cross into the right side of the box. But
Christian Tyson's header was smothered by a diving Del Cid. Tyson followed up with another shot four minutes later, but his left-footed blast sailed over the goal.
Agudelo followed up with his firs goal, curling a left-footed inswinger just inside the far post.
Erlenborn kept the shutout intact in the 71st minute with an impressive stop, swatting down a Pedro Guizardi header from point-blank range on the right post. However, the Blue Jays pulled even when Guizardi headed in a corner kick from Jeffery Bennett in the 84th minute.
Erlenborn made a pair of big plays to keep the match tied, jumping to make a save in the 87th minute before coming out of the box to kick the ball away in a 1-on-1 situation a minute later.
In the first overtime, Erlenborn rejected another header from Guizardi off a corner kick in the 99th minute on the shot of the period. However, both teams had scoring opportunities in the second OT, starting with a pair of shots from freshman
Kevin Kiernan that were saved by Del Cid. Erlenborn then made his final save in the 106th minute shortly before Agudelo's game-winner.
Drew and Catholic will be meeting in the Landmark Conference Championships for just the third time in postseason history and the first time in the conference final.