Warriors Claim 3-2 Double OT Thriller Vs. Burlington County

#11 Joel Lobo
#11 Joel Lobo

NEWARK, N.J. ---- Fabio Cula (Brockton) scored in the last minute of the second overtime to give the Massasoit men's soccer team a 3-2 win against Burlington County on Sunday.

The win marked the sixth in a row for the Warriors, as they improved to 10-4 on the season.

The Warriors had to come back against Burlington twice, as it was the first time in program history that Massasoit topped BC.

"I thought we played tremendously," Massasoit head coach Rui Estrela said. "It was our best game all year and might have been one of the best games I've coached here at Massasoit. We played really hard and I'm proud of our guys to come away with a win against a very good Burlington team."

Massasoit trailed 1-0 and later 2-1, but in both cases Joel Lobo (Brockton) tied up the score for the Warriors. Lobo's second goal came in the 60th minute as the game would eventual go to overtime.

After one addition 10-minute period, it took nearly another 10 minutes until the Warriors won on Cula's golden goal.

Off a free kick, the ball was served into the box and during a scramble, Cula knocked in the game winner.

Arthur McNally (Canton) earned the win in goal for Massasoit, coming up with a clutch save in the second half to send the game to extra time. He finished with three saves for the match.

WHY MASSASOIT WON: Coach Estrela indicated that despite falling behind on two separate occasions, the Warriors dominated possession and played hard throughout. Massasoit was able to break through in the final minute of the second overtime to avoid a tie.

SIX IN A ROW: Massasoit has now won six consecutive matches to sit at 10-4 on the season. The Warriors' last loss came on Sept. 24 at Bunker Hill, 3-1. Three of the last six wins have come against other NJCAA Division I opponents.

LOBO LIGHTING IT UP: Lobo has really hit his stride during the second half of the 2014 season. Last week the Brockton native netted six goals in the three victories and has found the back of the net in every match of the six-match win streak. In addition, Lobo tied his season total for goals from last year with 15 and has 30 over his two-year career at Massasoit.

NEXT UP: Massasoit hosts rival Dean College on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. on Warrior Field.