The Aurora University men's soccer opened the 2017 season with a 4-3 thrilling overtime victory Loras College at the Wheaton College Tournament.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE:  Aurora University 4, Loras College 3 - OT
LOCATION: Wheaton, Illinois 
RECORDS: Aurora University 1-0; Loras College 0-1
WEATHER: 70 degrees, clear and sunny.
ATTENDANCE: 118
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a scoreless first-half, the teams erupted offensively in the second-half.
- Loras took a 1-0 lead 3:54 into the second-half, 1-0
- AU and Collin Foreman answered 43 second later to tie the game. Foreman was assisted by Xavier Ortiz for the break-away
- 2:34 later, Foreman struck again on a deflection. Assists were credited to Ortiz and Henry Zehnal.
- Loras tied the game in the 59th minute (59:33) only to see the Spartans answer just 15 seconds later. Henry Zehnal scored his first collegiate goal with an assist from Ian Connelly and AU led again 3-2.
- At 71:57 Loras again brought the game even.
- The game remained knotted 3-3 as the contest headed to overtime.
- With only 18 seconds left in the first overtime, Spartan Jeremey Perales took a pass from Justin Rutherford and lofted it towards the Loras goal from 25-yards out. The shot found the back of the net as the Spartans snatched the golden goal and defeated Loras 4-3.
 
FOR THE SPARTANS                                                      
Jeremey Perales had the game-winning goal in the 99th minute. 
Collin Foreman had two goals.
Henry Zehnal had a goal and one assist.
Xavier Ortiz had two assists.
Phil Lewy earned the win, stopping five shots.

SPARTAN STAT LEADERS
GOALS: Collin Foreman (2)
ASSISTS: Xavier Ortiz (2)
SHOTS: Collin Foreman (4)
SAVES: Phil Lewy (5)
 
UP NEXT
Next action for the Spartan men's soccer team comes on Saturday, September 2 when they travel to Wheaton College. AU takes on St. Olaf with game time set for 2:00 p.m. in Wheaton, Illinois.