BETHANY, Okla. – Alex Gang led No. 25 Oklahoma City University to a 3-2 double-overtime victory over Southern Nazarene on Monday night in the semifinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament.
Gang, a junior from Seoul, South Korea, scored all three goals for OCU (15-3-2), including the game winner on a penalty kick with seven seconds left in the second overtime.
With the win, the Stars advanced to face No. 21 USAO in the conference championship match on Thursday.
OCU fell behind early when Mike Bray of Southern Nazarene scored in the seventh minute to give the Crimson Storm a 1-0 lead.
Gang answered with his first goal in the 20th minute to knot the score at 1-1. Gang received the ball from Ryan Hunter and snuck the ball in the goal from the right side with a fancy move.
SNU held a 6-5 advantage in shots in the first half.
The two teams went back and forth for much of the second half before Gang scored in the 88th minute to give OCU a 2-1 lead.
Gang scored on a rebound after the SNU goalkeeper blocked a shot attempt by Peiman Pahlevan.
The lead was short-lived though as J.P. Hanger scored for Southern Nazarene to tie the match in the 89th minute and send the match into overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime, the match looked to be going to a shootout until Gang was fouled in the box with just seven seconds left. Gang drilled the penalty kick into the upper-right part of the goal and quickly rushed over to the OCU fans to celebrate the win.
The Stars trailed SNU 19-17 in shots, but held a 10-7 advantage in shots on goal for the game.
OCU will look to secure an automatic bid to the NAIA Championships at USAO on Thursday at 2 p.m. The two teams played to a 1-1 tie after two overtimes on Oct. 30 at Stars Field.
Boxscore
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
MEN
Friday, Nov. 6
First Round
Oklahoma City 2, John Brown 0
Rogers State 1, Oklahoma Christian 0
Monday, Nov. 9
Semifinals
USAO 4, Rogers State 0
Oklahoma City 3, Southern Nazarene 2, 2OT
Thursday, Nov. 12
Championship
Oklahoma City at USAO, 2 p.m.
