On the right side of the goal at the corner of the 18, Owen Yoder was at a tough angle. He didn’t have an opening and he really didn’t have a shot, but he fired away anyway. His coach thought he should’ve passed it, but Yoder had other ideas.

The junior forward scored at 91:26 to lift Milton to a 1-0 win over South Williamsport on Saturday afternoon at the Mounties Soccer Field.

“I think he was determined to make something happen,” Milton coach Eric Yoder said. “I thought maybe he should’ve passed it but at that point, I’ll take anything we can get.”

Owen Yoder’s shot was well defended and he probably shouldn’t have even taken it, but luckily for Milton, it was hard-hit shot that took an awkward bounce up and in.

“I saw the keeper wasn’t too great, so I just had to put a shot on goal,” Owen Yoder said. “I shot it hard so it would be tough for him to handle and it went through his hands and went in.”

“He brings 100 percent effort to every game and tries to motivate everybody,” Eric Yoder said. “He wants to win. He can’t stand losing. That kind of brings everybody else with him.”

Owen Yoder’s heroics escaped Milton from a physical game and lifted his squad to a win for the first time in nearly two weeks. It was also the Black Panthers’ first overtime win of the season after going winless (0-2-1) in the other three overtime games.

“The first overtime, I think South Williamsport wanted it more than we did,” Eric Yoder said. “In the second overtime, I think we finally stepped up and really wanted it. That made a big difference. I think this is our fourth or fifth overtime. We tied one, lost two or three and this was our first win in overtime. It’s just huge for us to know that we can win and we get to celebrate other than the other team. I know how South is feeling right now.”

It was a devastating loss for South (3-6), which after starting 3-1, has dropped five straight. After struggling for much of the first half, the Mounties came out and were the better team for the final 51:26. The defense played great, especially late in the second half when Jimmy Brokaw-Stealy headed away a shot on an open goal and a couple minutes later, Gabe Harvey sacrificed his body when he stepped in front of a shot and cleared the threat away to force overtime. Freshman goalie Brock Weaver also played great as he made six saves.

“That’s definitely a tough way to lose. We played 92 minutes of really good soccer and Brock played his best game of the season today,” South coach Chris Vanaskie said. “Sometimes you can’t quite predict how the ball is going to bounce and they were able to take advantage of it when they needed to.”

South has had to shuffle its lineup the last couple of weeks and has players playing out of position. Yesterday, the Mounties had four players playing in different positions and that could’ve accounted for the slow start. But in a few days or so, the team should be back to full strength.

“They’re young,” Vanaskie said. “They’re learning a lot of stuff for the first time like how to deal with adversity and with all the injuries and people playing out of position, this really showed that they have the heart to get out there and keep competing despite anything that’s thrown at them.”

Milton 1, South 0 (2 OT)

M–Owen Yoder, 91:26

Shots: M 6, SW 7. Corners: M 5, SW 1. Saves: M 7 (Colton Loreman); SW 6 (Brock Weaver)

Records: Milton (3-7-1), South Williamsport (3-6)..