Pure Gold: Justin Gadalla Beats Overtime Buzzer with Dramatic Golden Goal at Whittier

WHITTIER, Calif. - Junior forward Justin Gadalla headed in a corner kick with just one second left in the second overtime session to give the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps the most dramatic of victories with a 1-0 double-overtime win at Whittier on Saturday evening.

The win enables the Stags to keep pace with Redlands in a tie for first in the SCIAC (10-2), after the Bulldogs also won in overtime on Friday at La Verne. CMS is also now 13-2 overall on the year, with 12 of the wins coming via shutout. 

MSOC: Buzzer Beater! Here's a video clip of Justin Gadalla's goal with one second left in the second overtime to give @StagsSoccerCMS a 1-0 win at Whittier to stay in a tie for first in the SCIAC. #GoCMS #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/4SCMcPSn5I

— CMS Athletics (@AthleticsCMS) October 21, 2018

Regulation was played evenly on the stat sheet, but CMS controlled the overtime sessions, outshooting the Poets 7-1. It appeared that the game would end in a tie, though, before the Stags were able to earn a corner kick in the final 10 seconds. With no time to organize a play, junior forward Cole Smith took the corner and drove a ball toward the far post, and Gadalla was able to win the header in traffic and deposit it in the corner of the net to beat the buzzer at the last possible moment to give CMS the win. 

It was only the second overtime game for CMS this season, after it also took a 2-1 win at Chapman earlier in the year. 

Freshman goalie Jacob Mays earned his 12th shutout of the season with four saves, which matches his personal high on the year. He had half of them in one sequence early in the contest, as he saved a shot from Matteo Loi off frame for a corner kick in the 14th minute, and then made a save off a header from Scott Clark off the ensuing corner. 

The Stags also had to withstand a quick flurry from the Poets at the start of the second half, as Whittier had two shots and two corner kicks in the first two minutes after halftime. Mays then made his fourth save in the 61st minute on a header attempt, but did not need to make another in the final 50 minutes, as the CMS depth started to enable the Stags to control more of the possession. 

CMS finished with a 23-15 edge in shots, thanks to its 7-1 advantage in the extra sessions, while it also had a narrow 7-5 edge in corner kicks, the seventh of which proved to decide the game. Freshman William Barton led the Stags with five shots, while Smith had four. 

CMS will return to action on Wednesday when it entertains Redlands in a battle for first place in the SCIAC. If that game ends in a draw, CMS would maintain its hold on the top seed in the conference tournament, since it defeated the Bulldogs head-to-head in the first meeting. The Stags likely will not be able to clinch the title on Wednesday, though, since Occidental is only one game behind at 9-3, and plays Caltech on Wednesday before hosting the Stags in the regular season finale on Saturday (after winning 2-0 in Claremont earlier this year).