BATESVILLE, Ark. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion soccer team lost to Lyon (Ark.) College - literally - by inches, 3-2, on Tuesday afternoon.
With the match tied at 2-2 in the 85th minute, a shot by Travis Shivers hit the crossbar and ricocheted away from the goal. Those inches on the miss came back to make a huge difference in the end as Lyon's Gabriel LeBlanc scored the golden goal in the 105th minute.
The loss means that the Lions will not qualify for the TranSouth Conference tournament. The top six teams in the regular season advance to postseason play.
FHU struck first when Shivers opened the scoring in the 9th minute when his shot hit the crossbar and went into the net behind Lyon keeper Matt Callaway. The Scots tied the match in the 32nd minute, then took their first lead of the match in the 49th minute.
But Nolan Beede evened the match in the 78th minute, and a few minutes later Shivers' shot was inches away from putting the Lions back on top. Neither team would score again until the second overtime, when LeBlanc punched in a rebound off the crossbar.
Lion goalkeeper Alexandre Girodo had a busy afternoon, stopping 13 shots. Lyon took 37 shots to FHU's 13 and held a 16-4 edge in shots on goal.
Senior midfielder Adimou Barry was given a straight red card in the 87th minute, leaving the Lions to play a man down for the remainder of the match. FHU was also without top scorer Ryan Engineer.
The Lions have one match remaining as they will host Union (Tenn.) University at 7:00 PM on Thursday night.
