Siena men’s soccer upsets Sacred Heart in closing seconds
Siena Soccer Head Coach Cesar Markovic couldn’t have scripted a much more dramatic finish for his 200th career head coaching victory. Senior striker Alexander Tejera scored the golden goal with just five seconds remaining in double overtime as the Saints shocked Sacred Heart 2-1 in Connecticut.
Freshman midfielder Alejandro Riquelme also scored for Siena (1-2-3) which prevailed despite being out-shot 25-9. Senior goalkeeper Aleksa Radosavljevic added seven saves for the Saints which extended their program record overtime streak to eight consecutive matches.
Riley Sullivan staked Sacred Heart (2-5) to a quick 1-0 advantage just 5:46 into the contest. But Riquelme found the equalizer for Siena in the 26th minute in which he made a nifty play 1v1 in the box and finished his second score of the season.
But with the Saints seemingly destined for their sixth tie in their last eight matches dating back to last season, Siena would finally break through for its first win of 2017.
The Saints turned up the pressure in the closing 20 seconds and their hard work paid off. After an initial cross into the box was knocked out, junior back Adel Cekic corralled the loose ball. Cekic then sent another cross into the box which connected with Tejera whose shot deflected off the crossbar to give Markovic his milestone win. Now in his fifth season at Siena, Markovic had accumulated his first 166 head coaching victories covering an 18-year span at four other institutions.
The Saints continue their season-long four-match road trip Tuesday when they make the short trip to Oneonta to face Hartwick at 7 p.m.
-Mike Demos/Siena Athletics