BEREA, Ky. - The Berea College men's soccer team overcame an early deficit and rallied to defeat the LaGrange College Panthers 2-1 Wednesday night at the Berea College Sports Complex. 

Both teams struggled to find consistency in a physical first half of play.  LaGrange out-shot the Mountaineers 11-10 in the opening half and netted the game's first goal at the 39-minute mark.  But as they have all season, the Berea defense tightened up in the second half, allowing only six shots.  The offensive attack broke through in the second half as well, with the Mountaineers taking 14 shots, including the game-tying goal by Victor Hernandez.  Hernandez broke free in the 64th minute and rifled a shot past the diving attempt of the LaGrange keeper to tie the match at 1-1. 

Berea had several shots at the game-winner but neither team found the back of the net and the game moved into overtime.  In the first overtime period, freshman Zakaria Shendra passed through the middle to junior Julio Vargas-Aguilera who scored off the low corner, giving Berea a 2-1 lead heading into the second OT.  The Berea defense turned away several LaGrange attacks early in the second OT period and Mountaineer keeper Eris Acosta secured the quarterfinal win.  Acosta finished the 110:00 minutes of play with seven saves.

The win advances Berea into the conference semifinals, where they will seek revenge against top-ranked Covenant College Saturday in Lookout Mountain, GA.  The Mountaineers and Scots battled for the conference championship last weekend in Berea, with the Scots winning 1-0.