Box Score A game like Thursday's can be looked back on in two ways. It can be the game that drove a team to get better and grow or it can be the game where the wheels fell off and the team struggled the rest of the season. The Lancaster Bible men's soccer team will ultimately have to decide which it is going to be, but one thing is for certain, Thursday's 4-3 loss to Stevenson will sting for a little while.

The Chargers led the Mustangs, 3-1 with four minutes to play and wound up losing, 4-3 in overtime as Stevenson scored twice in the final 3:53 to tie the game and then won it just over seven minutes into overtime.

Lancaster Bible controlled much of the possession in the first half and was finally rewarded at the 28:42 mark when freshman Spencer Lockard headed a ball past Stevenson goalkeeper Ryan Callinan to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead. That lead didn't even last two minutes as the Mustangs' Adam Isennock tied the game 1:38 later as he snuck around the defense on a corner and easily put the ball into the net off a pass from Jake Miller. 

The score remained tied at 1-1 through halftime and well into the second half before Lockard was at it again and headed the ball into the net off a corner kick from Arturo Ortega Marcos with 12:37 to play. Fellow freshman Dylan Papiernik gave the Chargers an insurance goal 3:50 later as he beat Callinan to a loose ball and put it over the keeper's head into an open net.

"Spencer and Dylan scored some special goals for us today," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Tom Ardt said. "Dylan never gave up on the play and used his body to score a big goal at the time and Spencer is special in the air and really had two great goals."

The Chargers (3-3) protected the lead well at first and didn't allow an immediate response from the Mustangs like after the first goal, but Stevenson began to push the play and finally scored as Calvin Granger headed the ball up and over a charging Andrew Kofstad to make it 3-2 with 3:53 to play. 

With the momentum back, Stevenson pushed again and Reid Hawkins tied the game as he collected a loose ball in the box after a corner kick and scored past several Chargers trying to block the shot.

Despite giving up the two-goal lead in regulation, it was the Chargers who held possession of the ball and had many of the chances early in overtime. The Mustangs regained possession and pushed the ball down the field and were rewarded with a corner kick. Yianni Sarioglou's cross didn't find a foot initially, but Andrew Garner came up with the ball after a few seconds in space and scored the game-winner into the top right-hand side of the net to give the Mustangs an improbable 4-3 victory.

"We didn't stay sharp defensively those last few minutes in regulation and it cost us," Ardt said. "We need to understand the moment of the game and continue to play smart. We had so many chances during the game. We have to learn to finish our chances and finish games. Hopefully today's loss helps us learn that lesson."

The Chargers are off this weekend due to weekend retreats for many of the majors at Lancaster Bible, but that is fine with Ardt who said the Chargers can use the time on the practice field to get better.

"This has to drive us and we need to push each other," Ardt said. "We played well today and outplayed Stevenson for large chunks of the game, but we have to finish."

The Chargers outshot Stevenson (6-1) for the game, 25-19 and held a 13-6 edge in corner kicks. Callinan finished with 11 saves for the Mustangs, while Kofstad had five for Lancaster Bible. 

Lancaster Bible is back in action on Monday night when they head North on Route 222 to take on North Eastern Athletic Conference rivals, Penn St. Berks. The game, to be played on the Nittany Lions' new turf and under their new lights, is scheduled for 7 p.m. 

With the weekend off, the Chargers hope to look back on Thursday as the positive turning point in their season, not the negative. Renewing their drive and commitment under the lights on Monday in Reading seems to be a good place to start.

Notes:
-Stevenson also defeated Penn St. Berks (Lancaster Bible's opponent on Monday) in overtime this season. The Mustangs, in eerily the same fashion as Thursday in Lancaster, scored two late goals on the Nittany Lions and won in double overtime.

-Ortega Marcos' assist on Lockard's second goal was the first point of his collegiate career.

-Stevenson is now 9-5 all-time against Lancaster Bible.

-Lancaster Bible hasn't defeated Stevenson since 1997.