Columbia, Mo. – The 21^st-ranked Cougar men's soccer team defeated No. 15 Park University 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday night at R. Marvin Owens Soccer Stadium. Columbia improves to 12-2 on the season and 7-0 in conference play with the defeat, while the Pirates improve to 8-1-2 on the year and 6-1-1 in league play.

Park drew first blood on their first shot-on-goal of the game three minutes in for an early 1-0 advantage. Park's leading scorer, Cyril Gadu kicked a slow roller just past Cougar goalkeeper Iain McTurk after he was pulled out of the box.

In the 15^th minute, the Cougars had an opportunity to knot the score as Ahkil Noel headed in a corner kick, but the ball ricocheted off the goal post, keeping Columbia off of the board.

The Cougars continued to apply pressure, outshooting the Pirates 13-4, and had several scoring opportunities over the remainder of the half, but couldn't capitalize as they trailed 1-0 at the halftime break.

In the 56^th minute, the Pirates looked to extend their lead as Ignacio Flores soared the ball over McTurk's head, but Noel was in the right place at the right time as he was able to clear the ball before it crossed the goal line.

Matija Ceraj threatened the Pirates in the 59^th minute as he nearly found the net, but the header that would have gone in deflected off of a Cougar player.

The Cougars finally broke through with 3:18 to go in the game as Luiz Guilherme Stein notched his fifth goal of the season after connecting with Dan Riley on a throw in. Neither team would score in the final minutes of regulation, sending the game into overtime.

In overtime, Columbia's leading scorer Mitchell Conning would score the game winning goal in the 91^st minute, his fifth of the season, to allow the Cougars to pull away with the 2-1 victory.

Columbia outshot Park 24-9 on the night. NAIA Defender of the Week, Iain McTurk (10-0) earned the win in goal, posting four saves.

Wednesday night's contest also marked Columbia's final home game of the 2015 regular season. Daniel Ainsworth, Lakin Kehde, Zac Walters, Vadim Cojocov, Kory McDonald, Piero Malerba, and Edin Campara were honored prior to game time for Senior Night.

With the victory, Columbia takes over sole possession of first place in the AMC regular season race.  However the Cougars will have their work cut out for them as they return to the field on Friday, October 16^th to take on Harris-Stowe State University. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo.