BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— Heading into the final 24 minutes of regulation with a 3-0 lead, the Montreat men's soccer team failed to hold on versus the Reinhardt University Eagles at Pulliam Stadium Wednesday night, falling to the visitors 4-3 in an extra period. With the defeat, the Cavs moved to 8-8 overall and 7-6 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play.
 
Reinhardt produced several dangerous crosses in the opening minutes of the competition that were clutched by Wyatt Fair, who started in net for Montreat.
 
In the 17^th minute, the Cavaliers broke the deadlock, striking off the foot of William Stallworth. Montreat utilized a set piece attempt in the corner to create the chance as a corner was defended out to the top of the box. Stallworth stepped up and fired a blast with the outside of his right foot that ricocheted off the right post and past the Reinhardt keeper to give the Cavs a 1-0 lead.
 
Montreat doubled its advantage on the counterattack 11 minutes later. With a 3-on-2 advantage, Carlos Hernandez tried to find an open Hugo Rodriguez sprinting down the right side. Hernandez's pass was deflected by a central defender, who touched the ball toward his goal. The visiting goalkeeper, Niko Tzevelokos, attempted to recover after running to his left, but couldn't reach the ball before it went into his net.
 
Just prior to the intermission, the Cavaliers pounced on an opportunity to go up 3-0. A well-worked passing play between Isaac Wilkening and Marco Oyarzo resulted in a stunner as a give-and-go was touched by Oyarzo around the final Eagles defender. Oyarzo clinically throttled his shot into the far side netting with only 12 seconds remaining in the half.
 
At the break, Montreat led 9-7 in shots, while the teams were even with four corner kicks apiece.
 
The Eagles (12-3, 9-3 AAC) came out of halftime with extra vigor as Reinhardt pushed in the second period. Following two chances off the crossbar from the visitors, the Eagles got on the board in the 67^th minute thanks to a corner that was headed home. After the tally, RU gained additional energy, which was apparent for the remainder of the match.
 
In the 76^th minute, Reinhardt pulled within one before finding an equalizer in the 82^nd to force overtime. Only 3:24 into the first extra time, the Eagles capitalized on a bouncing ball in Montreat's penalty area, slotting a shot home to take the competition by one.
 
Attempting to stunt the Reinhardt offense, Fair made three stops in goal for the Cavaliers before Christian Olaya made his first appearance of the season, playing 12 minutes between the posts.

"The guys battled with everything they had tonight and it was heartbreaking to lose in OT," commented head coach Michael Bruce. "We put in an excellent first-half performance, but needed just a little more to get over the line in the second half. We hope to end the regular season on a high note on Saturday," finished Bruce.
 
Men's soccer concludes its regular season with a matchup at Bob Jones University on Saturday. Kickoff in South Carolina is slated for 7:00 p.m.