The Lancaster Bible College men's soccer team saw its 2017 season come to an end on Saturday, as the Chargers fell to SUNY Poly, 2-1 in overtime of the North Eastern Athletic Conference Semifinals. The Chargers, in the NEAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2015 season, finish the year with a 10-10-2 record, while SUNY Poly improved to 11-8 overall. The Wildcats head to the NEAC Final on Sunday to face top-seeded Penn St. Abington at 1 p.m.

How it Happened: Both teams started quickly, with each earning two shots and a corner kick chance in the opening 10 minutes of the game. As the half continued, SUNY Poly earned a few more offensive chances than the Chargers, but Lancaster Bible hung tough and was rewarded at 33:13 when a foul was committed by SUNY Poly in the box and the Chargers earned a penalty kick.

Senior Edward Bills, almost automatic throughout his career in penalty kicks, stepped to the ball and gave the Chargers a 1-0 lead with his ninth goal of the season. 

The Wildcats hit the crossbar just over two minutes later, but Lancaster Bible maintained its lead and led by the same 1-0 score at halftime.

SUNY Poly hit the crossbar again 3:24 into the second half and the Wildcats pressed for the equalizer throughout much of the second half. The Chargers held off the Wildcats until 77:20, when senior goalkeeper Thiago Naque made the initial save on Austin Plows' shot, but Amadou Ndiaye was there to put home the rebound and knot the score at 1-1.

The teams combined for just one shot in the final 12 minutes of the game and headed to overtime. 

Lancaster Bible dominated overtime from the opening whistle as the Chargers had two corner kicks and four shots in the first 5:30 of the third period. SUNY Poly made its first and only chance of the extra frame count however, as Plows fired home a shot at 97:14 to give the Wildcats the victory and send the Chargers home for the year.

By the Numbers: SUNY Poly outshot the Chargers, 16-7 and held a 7-4 edge in shots on goal...Lancaster Bible had six corner kicks, while SUNY Poly had five...Naque made five saves for the Chargers...There were six cards issued in the game, three yellow cards for SUNY Poly and one yellow and two red cards for the Chargers.

The Coach Says: "Obviously its disappointing for our season to end and we regret losing our cool following the end of the contest today," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Tom Ardt said. "We've been a disciplined team all season long and it's unfortunate to have that be something that happens in our final game."

On the Team's Seniors: "I've loved coaching these guys the entire time they have been here and I can't thank them enough for their hard work and dedication to this program," Ardt said. 

On the Future: "I'm excited for our program and the group we have returning," Ardt said. "We want to keep building not only a good team on the field, but off the field as well. Our seniors have laid out a very solid base, and we need to build on that and keep getting better."

Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 3-5-1 all-time against SUNY Poly...Edward Bills caps his illustrious collegiate career with 29 goals, 19 assists and 77 points...His 29 goals are the 13th-most in program history and his 19 assists are the 11th-most in school history...Bills is also 13th in program history with his 77 points...Senior Vann Sutphin ends his career with 135 saves, the 16th-most in program history...The Chargers are now 1-3 all-time in the NEAC Semifinals, with the lone win coming in 2014...In seven seasons, the Chargers are 4-5 all-time in NEAC postseason play...Lancaster Bible had 33 team assists this season, the 10th-most in program history...The 139 corner kicks this season were the second-most in the program's 45 seasons.