LYNCHBURG, Va. --- In the 102nd minute of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's soccer championship, Luke Mega stepped to the spot and calmly deposited a penalty kick into the back of the net to break a scoreless tie with crosstown rival Randolph College and clinch University of Lynchburg its 18th ODAC title in the sport.
"Pure euphoria," Mega said afterward. "It's what you dream of when you're grinding in the offseason."
The golden goal came after the WildCats were called for a handball in the box. It ended the match in the second sudden-victory extra time period.
Mega's 13th goal of the season cemented the junior as the tournament's most outstanding player -- he notched a hat trick in the Hornets' quarterfinal win over Shenandoah and scored the game-winner as Lynchburg topped Virginia Wesleyan in Wednesday's semifinal -- and midfielder Carter Averette, goalkeeper Justin Ennis, and defender Nick Foley joined Mega on the all-tournament team.
The match carried the same frantic feeling as Lynchburg's 2-1 regular-season win at Randolph on October 20. Neither team sustained offensive pressure in the first half, instead trading quick-strike opportunities that the opposite defenses snuffed out. Randolph out-shot its hosts, 5-4, in the opening half, but the WildCats weren't able to put any on goal; the best opportunity came when Tucker Leverone floated one off the crossbar in the 22nd minute.
The Hornets nearly broke through at the end of the half. Griffin Phillips took a 42nd-minute shot that was blocked but drew Randolph keeper Zach Aylor out of the net. The carom went right to Mega, who headed the ball goalward. A WildCat defender cleared the shot off the line to keep the sheet clean for the time being.
Lynchburg mounted a more sustained attack after the break, forcing Aylor to make four second-half saves. Randolph wasn't without its own opportunities in the second 45, but they generally came on counterattacks. Ennis made a pair of late saves to preserve the 0-0 score through 90 minutes of play.
The first extra time period slid by without a serious threat from either squad, and then Lynchburg assumed control in the final stanza. Shortly after a throw-in, Averette played the ball back into the box and, in the process of trying to clear the ball, a WildCat defender found the ball with a hand in the box.
Whistle.
Penalty kick.
Mega.
Goal.
"Obviously, your heart's racing a little bit," Mega said of stepping to the spot. "But I just took a couple of deep breaths, and I was confident."
For Lynchburg head coach Chris Yeager, there wasn't any doubt as to who would take the biggest shot of the year.
"He's got unbelievable nerves to be able to do it, and he's really, really good at them," Yeager said.
Lynchburg's conference victory marked the eighth title in the 20 seasons under Yeager's tutelage and the third time the Hornets have gone back-to-back in that time.
The championship was just 210 days removed from the most recent one, the April 11 win over Guilford for the 2020-21 title. It was the Hornets' first victory over their crosstown rivals on the ODAC championship stage.
With the win, Lynchburg (14-4-1) earned the ODAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. That field will be announced Monday at 1:30 p.m.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Nate Mitchell, Virginia Wesleyan
- Griffin Potter, Virginia Wesleyan
- Sam Bass, Washington and Lee
- Tyler Smith, Washington and Lee
- Evan Blow, Randolph
- Wade Hall, Randolph
- Brandon John, Randolph
- Carter Averette, Lynchburg
- Luke Ennis, Lynchburg
- Nick Foley, Lynchburg
- Luke Mega, Lynchburg (MOP)