The Covenant Scots fell behind 2-0 at halftime, but rallied in the second half to tie and then won in overtime 3-2 over visiting Greenville (Ill.) College on Friday night at Scotland Yard.
Like last season, it was Matt Hudnut who scored the game-winner in the 99th minute to give the Scots the comeback win. Hudnut had two consecutive "golden goals" last season, with the first one coming during Homecoming and the following match at Piedmont.
Hudnut received a pass from Tyler Morrison on the right side and placed the ball perfectly past the outstretched arms of a diving Greenville keeper Thomas Crown. A large group of fans rushed the field and mobbed Hundut and his teammates at midfield shortly after.
Covenant (3-5) tied the score at 2-2 thanks to Chris Pifer's successful penalty kick in the 73rd minute. The score was his second of the season. The Scots got on the board for the first time in the 61st minute when Hunter Harrison took a deflected ball off a corner kick and found the back of the net, assisted by David Taaffe.
Greenville (4-4) took control early in the first half. The visiting Panthers took a quick lead in the 5th minute. Sean McQuillan headed the ball into the top right corner off a strong throw-in from Robert Wright. The Panthers went on to score again in the 21st minute by Wright from a through ball from Spencer Pulliam that made it 2-0.
The Scots managed to outshoot the Panthers 16-14, with a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal. Hudnut took seven shots while Morrison took three shots. Both Taaffe and Pifer had two shots each. Harrison and Joel Friesen took a shot each for the Scots. The Panthers had a slight edge in corner kicks, 7-5.
Covenant keeper Shuler Polk saved three of the five shots on goal. Greenville keeper Thomas Crown tallied four saves on the night.
The Scots play again in less than 24 hours when they host LaGrange College on Saturday at Scotland Yard. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.