McCallum's OT Goal Lifts Lutes Past No. 13 Whitewater
WHITEWATER, Wis. - Lucas McCallum scored the winning goal 37 seconds into the first overtime period as Pacific Lutheran upset No. 13-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2-1, in the men's soccer season opener for both teams played here Friday night.
PLU weathered an early onslaught from Whitewater, a nationally ranked team with a NCAA Division III playoff pedigree, before settling into the match and taking much of the play to the Warhawks.
Whitewater fired the first four shots before the Lutes got their first opportunity at goal in the 15th minute when senior forward Spencer Augustin's attempt was saved by Warhawks keeper Aaron Sesselmann.
Pacific Lutheran took the lead three minutes later, Augustin beating Sesselmann unassisted at 17:24 to put the visitors on top, 1-0.
Whitewater responded at the 25:35 mark when Logan Fye, who came into the match just 90 seconds earlier, headed the ball past PLU keeper Joe Rayburn. The assist went to Bob Shone.
After that, the teams traded possession and shots through the remainder of the 90-minute regulation. That led to McCallum's heroics in overtime, the lanky junior forward taking advantage of a slip by a Whitewater defender to get behind the back line and beat Sesselmann with the winner.
The shots were even, the Warhawks finishing with 16 and the Lutes with 14, though the Lutes had an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal. Rayburn had four saves for the Lutes while Sesselmann ended up with six for the hosts. Whitewater had a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Pacific Lutheran plays twice more in Wisconsin, facing Carroll on Sunday and St. Norbert on Monday, with both games being played on the Carroll campus in Waukesha.
- PLU -
