Written for The Argo by Andrew Abeal

The Stockton Ospreys (2-4) took on the Catholic University Cardinals (3-1) at the Rutgers-Camden Cialella Soccer Classic on Sunday, September 12th. This was by far the most intense game of both teams’ seasons. The game went into a nail biting double overtime, with the Cardinals unfortunately ending up victorious. 

In the first half of the game junior midfielder Peter Kozlej was taken down inside the box. This set up a penalty kick for the Ospreys. The kick was taken by Stocktons senior midfielder Ervin Gjeli and resulted in an early 1-0 lead for the Ospreys. They maintained this lead all the way through the second half and up until the very end of the game. 

With 3 minutes and 53 seconds left, the Cardinals tied up the game.A corner kick was taken by the Cardinals, setting up a big scramble right in front of the goal. One of the Cardinal strikers, Gordon Bernlo, got the right touch on the ball and tied up the game 1-1 forcing overtime. 

In the first overtime both teams exchanged shots at each other, but the goalies and defenders held their ground, bringing the overtime to an end. With the start of the second overtime, the Cardinals picked up the pace, and wasted no time. Within 1:29 into the period, Paul Egan kicked a through ball to Gordon Bernlohr who placed it in the back of the net. This gave the Cardinals the 2-1 double overtime victory. Stockton will not play Catholic University again this season but there is a big chance for next season. When that time comes the Ospreys will be ready for vengeance.