SMU falls to Virginia in overtime of Elite-8

The #8 seeded SMU Men’s soccer team was knocked out of the NCAA playoffs by a 3-2 scoreline in an overtime Golden Goal match against #1 seed Virginia.

The Golden Goal PK was a controversial one with talk of a dive from SMU fans and talk from Virginia fans of a mystery injury to SMU’s starting keeper Grant Makela that saw Patrick Michael Hillyard sub in to face the penalty.

Axel Gunnarsson gave Virginia the initial 1-0 lead 18 minutes into the game. The two teams traded PKs in the 70th and 77th minutes, Gabriel Costa scoring for SMU and Joe Bell for UVA. Henrik Bredeli got the 2nd equalizer for the Ponies in the 84th minute.

Then in extra time, anther PK was called – for an absurd three PKs in one game – that Joe Bell again converted.

SMU ends the remarkable season at 18-2-1. The SMU seniors, including FCD Academy grabs Eddie Munjoma and Philip Ponder, finish their careers with 51 wins, three conference championships, and three NCAA tournament berths. 

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