Oakvile Soccer Defeats Mehlville in Double Overtime Victory

In a physical game that pushed both Mehlville and Oakville soccer teams to the limit, the Tigers walked away with a double overtime victory at home after 100 minutes of play.

Senior Jared Swierk scored both goals for Oakville in the 2-1 victory against cross-town rival Mehlville.

The game was a battle of defense, remaining scoreless until 9:26 left in the game. Mehlville’s Nick Saali scored his first goal of the season and the game seemed to swing in the Panthers’ favor.

“I think the first 15 minutes, they (the Panthers) came out with a little bit more energy, a little more intensity,” said Oakville coach Dave Robben. “They started taking runs at the goal, and that was kind of a surprise to us at first, it caught us on our heels.”

But with two minutes left in the game, Swierk scored off a penalty kick and the match was sent into overtime.

"I thought we really kept our composure,” Robben said. “For us to tie that up and play soccer and serve that ball in, that was a nice goal there.”

Overtime was a battle of the goalies. Both Mehlville’s Dan Gustafson and Oakville’s Alec McChesney had more than 10 saves in the evening, with clutch moves coming at the end.

Gustafson had two spectacular saves in the second overtime before letting one in with 37 seconds left.

“He (Gustafson) certainly kept them in the game with a variety of types of saves,” Robben said. “There were a couple point blank chances that he stopped that looked like they were going to be goals. He played an outstanding game for them.”

Swierk got an assist from Mike Munsell and buried the ball in the upper corner of the goal to end the game. 

The bragging rights return to Oakville after their 2010 loss to the Panthers by one point.

“It’s a good win for us,” Robben said. “It was a conference game and could have some impact on seeding for the district since we’re both in the same district.”

Oakville will face St. Mary’s at home again Wednesday at 6 p.m. while Mehlville will travel to Rock Bridge Saturday to play the Bruins.