BELMONT, NC -Belmont Abbey junior midfielder Brian Souza fired home the golden goal in the 103rd minute, bending home a right-footed shot into the lower left corner of the net to give the Crusaders a 3-2, double overtime win over Pfeiffer this afternoon at Alumni Field. The Crusaders, which runs its unbeaten streak to five, improves to 5-2-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the CVAC, while the Falcons fall to 3-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the CVAC.

The Abbey got on the board first just 8:22 into the contest, as senior defender Sal Cornetta fired a pass to junior forward Luis Arrietta at the top of the box. Arrietta was shoved from behind by two Falcons defenders, but managed a back pass to Morrison, who fired a low, screaming bullet from 20 yards out into the left corner of the net for his first goal of the year.

Pfeiffer tied the match just 10 minutes later as Cihan Nuhoglu connected on a free kick from 20 yards out to knot the score at one, and seven minutes later, the Falcons took the lead as Michael Sobolewski raced down the right sideline and fired a cross to the center of the box, where Matt Denton was all alone and headed home the winner to give Pfeiffer a 2-1 lead.

That lead stood until the 56th minute when junior forward Luis Arrietta bent a free kick from the top of the box past Falcons goalkeeper Tyler Vaughan for his team-leading eighth goal of the year.

The score remained knotted at two through the remainder of the half, but the Crusaders had several chances to score in regulation, as Arrietta and Juan Calderon both had shots that were destined for the back of the net, but Vaughan made two diving saves to keep the match tied.

After the two schools played the first overtime without a goal, Souza ended the match just 2:23 into the second overtime. The Abbey offense pressured the Falcons into a bad clearance, where Souza gathered the ball three-quarters into the Falcons zone. He dribbled a few yards, shed his mark and fired a shot with the outside of his right foot that spun just inside the left goalpost for his first goal of the year, giving the Abbey its second overtime win of the year.

The Abbey outshot the Falcons 9-8 and held a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. The contest was a physical one, as the two teams combined to commit 45 fouls (23 for Belmont Abbey, 22 for Pfeiffer) and six yellow cards were issued.

Prior to today's contest, Arrietta and senior midfielder Nick Wyatt combined to score all of the Abbey's goals this season, with Arrietta scoring seven, and Wyatt scoring the other.

The Crusaders are back in action Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. when it goes on the road to face St. Andrews in a CVAC matchup.