Olathe United Completes Gutsy Come-From-Behind Victory Against Crown Villa In Added Time

Olathe United completed a gutsy come-from-behind-victory against home team, Crown Villa in added time with a Rory Stenhouse penalty kick in extra time to complete the 3-2 victory.

Olathe United got on the board first in the 37th minute when outside back, Kyan Rice pinged a ball forward down the right side and striker Lucas Porter held off the defender and scored from the right side of the box. Crown Villa tied it up in the 58th minute when a loose ball fell to the feet of a Crown Villa striker who did a baby bicycle-kick and flicked it over his shoulder into a wide open net. Crow Villa took the lead in the 70th minute when their striker cut onto his left foot from the right side and had nice finish into the upper corner. Olathe United tied it up in the 77th minute when defender Ryan Lytton crossed the ball from the left side and striker Tim Dietz flicked it over the keeper's head from 10 yards out. In the 89th minute, a clear hand all in the box by a Crown Villa defender led to a PK for OU and defender (and man of the match) Rory Stenhouse calmly slotted it into the lower left corner to seal the victory.

Coach Esh was very happy with the come-from-behind victory: "That was a gutsy win by this group. Crown Villa had a lot of speed up top that caused us problems. We really didn't bring our 'A' game tonight, or even our 'B' game but we still gutted out a victory. That shows the character of this team. This small field really made everything condensed and epitomizes home field advantage. This was our third game, our third different starting lineup and the first time playing for several of these boys so we are still learning on the fly and getting to know one another. If we can hold it together til mid-may when we can start practicing together, we should really be flying in June and July. Losing our leading goal scorer, Lucas Porter with an ankle injury for the next 3 weeks is a blow but I am confident that our boys will step up. I am very happy with these boys and their victory tonight."

Olathe United's next game is Saturday, April 26 against first place Woodland United at 7PM at Maranatha Christian Academy.