WENHAM, Mass.—The Carthage Red Men took home the title of 2016 North Shore Invitational Champs after coming from one goal down to beat host Gordon College in the second overtime period, 2-1. Gordon failed to capitalize on several chances in regulation to secure a resume-boosting win and left the door open for Carthage to sneak out of Massachusetts with its third consecutive victory.
The winners of Friday night's North Shore Invitational matches met up under the lights for chance at claiming the tournament crown.
Carthage came out of the gates fast after putting up four goals against Gordon's Commonwealth Coast Conference rival Endicott on Friday. The Red Men put a shot just off frame only a few ticks into the half, putting immediate pressure on Gordon keeper Josh Spoonhour (Greencastle, Pa.). Only a few moments later, Spoonhour had to make a diving stop to his left to keep Carthage from putting them in an early hole.
After the initial barrage of Carthage offense, Gordon seemed to settle into a better pace and kept the Red Men from setting up shop in their defensive half.
The Fighting Scots' first attempt of the half yielded a scoring chance right away, as sophomore Tyler Modzeleski settled a ball in a sea of red and poked a ball through the mess to open space. For the second time in as many nights, freshman Matt Chartier (Concord, N.H.) got the ball in stride and finished easily for the 1-0 lead.
In the 35th minute, Carthage committed a foul on the end line to give Caleb Cole (Coatesville, Pa.) a penalty kick opportunity. The senior fired a shot off the inside of the post, but the ball jutted out back across the frame and out of danger.
Carthage held an 8-4 advantage in shots during the first half and put half of its attempts on goal.
The two teams traded barbs back and forth as chance after chance went unrewarded on both sides of the field to begin the second half.
Slowly the Red Men begin to press on the offensive end more and were ultimately rewarded with the equalizer from reserve forward Kevin Mahoney (Orland Park, Ill.). Mahoney took a ball with his back to the goal and volleyed it with just enough pace to beat Spoonhour to the left side of the net.
Gordon looked to have a prime chance in the 86th minute when the ball got lost in a scrum right in front of the net, but the ball went just high of the crossbar to keep things knotted.
A status quo first overtime bled into the second overtime, but Carthage got an instant opportunity off of the Gordon tip. The Red Men took the ball down the right flank and sent two dangerous crosses into the fray. The first scurried away from the danger, but the second found the head of Freddy Martinez (Carpentersville, Ill.) for the golden goal just 51 ticks in.
Spoonhour made six saves for the Fighting Scots, while Evan Bott (Bartlett, Ill.) came up with two stops in the victory.
Carthage heads home at 3-0 and will play host to Lake Forest on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. Gordon continues a lengthy home stand when Maine Maritime comes on the same day for a 4 o'clock tip.
