JACKSON - The Millsaps College men's soccer team was 2:18 away from pulling the biggest upset in school history, but a game-tying goal from Trinity's Ben Grossman in the 88th minute and Alan Llobet's goal in double overtime sealed a 3-2 come-from-behind win for the 8th-ranked Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Harper Davis Field.
Trinity moved to 8-1-2 overall and stayed perfect in league play at 3-0, while Millsaps dropped to 7-6 overall and 2-4 in conference play. The Tigers also remained unbeaten all-time against the Majors in 23 meetings, moving to 21-0-2.
Ian Davies and Trinity broke open a scoreless draw in the 38th minute, using a perfectly played ball from Tommy Barros into the box to take a 1-0 lead.
Millsaps, however, came firing right back, needing just 1:57 to draw even on
Brandon Mong's third goal of the year. Mong beat Trinity keeper Patrick Johnson in the lower right corner in a one-on-one situation, showing off some fancy footwork in netting the game-tying goal just four minutes before halftime.
The Trinity offense came alive in the second half and forced constant pressure on the Millsaps defense, firing off 13 shots to the Majors' one and earning 10 corner kicks. Goalkeeper
Stephen Andrieu and the Millsaps defense, however, held strong keeping the ball out of the net for a majority of the half.
The Majors found the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute after a misplayed ball at midfield that bounced over the head of Johnson and into the net from 40 yards out, sending the Millsaps bench and the home crowd into a frenzy. Freshman
Daniel Moise and a TU defender both jumped for a free ball on a header, but it found the back of a Trinity player's head for the own goal and a brief, 2-1 Millsaps lead.
The nation's 8th-ranked team would not go down without a fight, managing the game-tying goal in the 88th minute from Grossman after he kicked in a saved header off the head of teammate Connor Hickey. The goal for Grossman marked his team-leading eighth, but more importantly sent the game into overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime period, TU's Llobet took advantage of a throw in deep in Millsaps territory from Alan Castillejos and found the game-winner past a diving Andrieu in the 102nd minute for the come-from-behind win.
Millsaps will continue a four-game homestand on Wednesday night, welcoming Haverford College (Pa.) (5-6) to Harper Davis Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff.