Rocky Mount, N.C. - N.C. Wesleyan's men's soccer team opened up USA South play over the weekend, picking up a pair of overtime wins versus Maryville and Greensboro, respectively. Junior Samba Cande notched the Golden Goal in Friday's 2-1 win over the Scots, while freshman Alex Mansaray did the honors in Sunday's double OT victory over the Pride.
At Maryville on Friday, Mansaray gave the Bishops a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute when he tallied his first collegiate goal on an assist from Cande. An MVC score at the 79:25 mark forced overtime, and Cande gave the Bishops their first league win with a goal in the 98th minute on an assist from Halldor Bjarneyjarson.
The Scots out-shot the Bishops 12-6 on the day, but freshman keeper Drew Thompson made four saves to secure the victory.
The Bishops returned home on Sunday to host Greensboro, and the two teams fought to a 0-0 tie at the break. At 64:02, the Pride got on the board with an unassisted goal by John Bruni, but Cande found Simond Kargbo for an 18-yard blast just 55 seconds later to knot the score at 1-1.
Wesleyan took the lead in the 74th minute when Sebastian Wiiala's shot found the back of the net, but much like the Bishops earlier, the Pride countered quickly with a goal just 12 seconds later for a 2-2 tie.
The match then seemed destined for a draw as the first 19 minutes of overtime went scoreless. With 46 seconds remaining, however, Mansaray beat his defender to the right and found the top left pocket to secure the Bishops' second OT win in as many matches.
Wesleyan is now 3-4-1 overall, but more importantly, sits alone atop the USA South standings with a 2-0 league mark. The Bishops continue conference play at 4:00pm on Wednesday with a road match at preseason favorite Methodist University.