The Fulton Hornets soccer team suffered a narrow, gut-wrenching 4-3 loss when Helias' Dane Haugen delivered the decisive goal with 2 minutes left in the second overtime Tuesday night at the high school athletic complex.
Helias was able to force overtime when it scored with about 2 minutes left in regulation to tie the match at 3-all.
Fulton grabbed the early lead when senior forward Austin Wilson scored off an assist from senior midfielder Kevin Wallace in the 3rd minute. After the match was suspended by lightning in the 13th minute and delayed 40 minutes, the Crusaders went in front 2-1 on consecutive goals in the 37th and 38th minutes from Braden Remmert and Sam Heckart, respectively.
The Hornets battled back in the second half to tie the match when Wilson supplied his second goal on senior defender Cody Baumgartner's assist in the 14th minute. Senior defender Casey Haarmann then put Fulton on top 3-2 when he scored in the 20th minute.
"The second half was great ... because we didn't give up and continued to work and play as a team," Hornets head coach Brad Oestreich said. "Having this mindset and work ethic was a great building block, showing us that as long as we keep working, we can get back into any game."
The tough loss left Fulton at 4-5 on the season.
"In the end, even though we lost, the boys played hard and never gave up," Oestreich said. "... By the season's end and postseason begins, I look forward to us putting everything we have learned throughout the season together and being a very strong team."
The Hornets travel to Mexico to play Missouri Military Academy at 5 p.m. today.