CHARLOTTE, NC— ODU senior forward Tim Hopkinson’s (Nottingham, England) goal with 8:18 left in the first overtime lifted the Monarchs of Old Dominion (5-3-1/2-1) to a 3-2 Conference USA victory over the 49ers of Charlotte in a Fox Sports nationally televised match Wednesday night.
"Wonderful victory on the road in a very tough place to play. We really didn't start the game well, but we settled down and kept fighting and found a way to win in overtime which is a great lesson for us," said ODU head coach Alan Dawson. "We go great senior leadership tonight. Sean Stowe made some big saves tonight, Tim got the winner for when he got the chance and Jason Gaylord was terrific in the back. It was a great team victory. We now have two league wins and looking forward to Saturday night."
The 49ers who played in the 2011 NCAA National championship game took the early lead at the 15:55 mark of the first half on a goal by Kyle Parker on a baseline pass from Brandt Bronico.
Charlotte had a flurry of attempts late in the half, but Monarch senior goalkeeper Sean Stowe (Midlothian, VA.) came up with two crucial saves with four minutes left off shots by Mombo Bokar and Tyler Gibson. Stowe finished the game with six saves on the night.
With time running down in the first half, Hopkinson got off a corner kick and fellow senior Gideon Asante (Suyani, Ghana) headed it in the net with one second left to tie the match at halftime, 1-1.
In the second half, with less than nine minutes remaining in regulation, sophomore Ryan Condotta (Keller, TX.) got a pass from freshman Cole Stringer (Keller, TX.) and launched it in the net from 35 yards out to put ODU up 2-1, but the 49ers came right back four minutes later on a goal from Aidan Kirkbride off a deflection to the far post. That tied the match and sent it into overtime, ODU’s fourth of the season.
The game winner by Hopkinson came from a pass by freshman Jesse Miralrio (Arlington, TX.) and Hopkinson shot past the diving Charlotte keeper Klay Davis. Hopkinson now has seven goals and two assists thus far this season for 16 total points which leads C-USA.
Charlotte outshot ODU, 17-10, but shots on goal only 8-7.ODU has scored 13 of their 18 total goals in the second half. The Monarchs return home to play 10th ranked UAB Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex.
ODU 1-1-1=3
Charlotte 1-1-=2
15:55 CHA Kyle Parker from Brandt and Gentile Giuseppe off a cross
44:59 ODU Gideon Asante from Tim Hopkinson off a corner
80:26 ODU Ryan Condotta from Cole Stringer from 35 yards out
84:51 CHA Aidan Kirkbridge from Kyle Parker and Luke Waechter off deflection to far post
91:41 ODU Tim Hopkinson from Jesse Miralrio
Shots:ODU(10), CHA (17)
SOG: ODU (7), CHA (8)
Corners:ODU (3), CHA (3)
Saves: ODU – Sean Stowe (6 ) ; Charlotte – Klay Davis (3)