By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Perrysburg, OH - The Express picked up their biggest win of the year at home on Saturday, and head coach Art Johnson reached a milestone in the process - against his alma mater.
With their 3-2 win over Monroe Community College (N.Y.), the Express helped Johnson capture the 150th win of his career at Owens. He is the only head coach Owens men's soccer has ever had, and he is a men's soccer alumni of Monroe Community College. Additionally, Monroe's head coach is a former teammate of Johnson's.
Each team had to battle a strong wind blowing east throughout the match. Each team took equal advantage, however, and scored two goals in each half.
The first half belonged to the Express as they were with the wind and took a 2-0 lead into the half. Novak Vuk Janicic (Elektro Technicka Skola/Belgrade, Serbia) headed a free kick in at the 16:16 mark of the half on an assist from Leyton McKay-Ellison (St. Margaret's Church of England/Liverpool, England) to give Owens a 1-0 lead. Then, at the 31:02 mark, Nickyle Webber (Cornwall College/Trelawny, Jamaica) scored on an assist from Vuk Janicic to put Owens up 2-0.
Just 2:12 into the second half, Monroe cut its deficit in half with a goal on a penalty kick. Monroe then tied the game late with a goal off a corner kick at the 87:44 mark.
The Express then lost the coin toss and had to go against the wind for the overtime session. However, after having one shot hit the crossbar early in overtime, the Express won the game with another goal by Vuk Janicic on an assist from Webber 96:14 into the match.
Overall, Vuk Janicic scored two goals and had one assist, while Webber had one goal and one assist. Jake Olman (Maumee/Maumee, Ohio) started in goal for the Express and saved 12 shots on goal.
The Express (11-6) have now won two straight and are scheduled for their final three regular season matches next week - all on the road. On Wednesday, they will battle Lakeland Community College at 4 p.m. Then, they will take on Jackson Community College next Saturday at 1 p.m. before facing No. 1 Schoolcraft College at 1 p.m. next Sunday. All three matches will play a pivotal role in regional tournament seeding.