SHEYBOGAN, Wis. — Playing their fourth game in six days, the last thing the Saint Mary's University men's soccer team needed was to go into overtime in its nonconference game against Lakeland.
Yet, thanks in part to back-to-back second half goals by Ryan Rademacher (La Crosse, Wis.) and Juamaine Venter (Rochester, Minn.), that's exactly where the Cardinals found themselves Sunday afternoon.
Fortunately for coach Chris Dembiec and his weary troops, Bryan Neu (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) still had a little gas in his tank, as the sophomore netted his first goal of the season — and his career — drilling a 22-footer past Lakeland goalkeeper Alex Piekarski four minutes into the second overtime to give SMU a hard-earned, 3-2 victory.
“I'm really proud of the way the guys battled back,” said SMU coach Chris Dembiec. “We came out rather slow in the first half and were playing pretty tired — like a team that had played four games in six days.
“It was good to see them snap out of it in the second half.”
With the Cardinals in dire need of a spark, Dembiec inserted several role players who hadn't seem much playing time — and the switch seemed to do the trick, as a rejuvenated SMU team took control in the second half, getting goals from Rademacher and Venter — both assisted by Steve Boussie (Troy, Mich.) — in a 12-minute span late in the second half to send the game into overtime.
And set up Neu's heroics.
McKeeth picked up a loose ball, drove down the sideline, flicked a heel pass between a Lakeland defender's legs and right to Neu, who nailed the 22-footer into the upper corner for the game-winner.
“It was an unbelievable play,” said Dembiec of the McKeeth-to-Neu game-winner. “Kameron's pass was amazing, and Bryan just hit the perfect shot.
“It was exactly the lift this team needed.”
The Cardinals, who improved to 4-4-1 overall, return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday against Gustavus.
“It's nice to go into the heart of our conference schedule with a win,” Dembiec said. “This was a big win for us.”
