RUTHERFORD, NJ (Oct. 31, 2026) –
Bryan Sanchez scored in the 106
th minute to send No. 6 seed Georgian Court past No. 3 seed Felician, 2-1, in the First Round of the CACC Tournament. With the win, the Lions (10-6-3) advance to Tuesday's Semifinal against No. 7 seed Post.
How it Happened
•
Sander Rynning opened the scoring in the 42
nd minute, heading home an in-swinging corner kick from
Joseph Juarez.
• Felician's Bartu Yakkan leveled the match at 1-1 in the 60
th minute.
•
Bryan Sanchez drilled in the game-winner in the 106
th minute.
• GCU outshot Felician, 26-11.
1st Half
• Georgian Court outshot the Golden Falcons, 10-5.
•
Jack Pollintine-Smith had a marvelous chance in the 36th minute, but his shot through the legs of a Felician defender was kicked out by Mathias Kristoffersen.
•
Sander Rynning finally put the Lions on the board in the 42nd minute. The sophomore headed home Juarez's corner kick to pick up his fourth goal of the season in only seven appearances.
2nd Half
• Bartu Yakkan found the back of the net in the 60
th minute, streaking up the left channel before sliding one past
Lennox Blue Lebelt who had come out of net to try and cut down the angle.
First Overtime
•
Gijs van Eif fired the first shot of the extra session on target, but Kristoffersen gobbled it up.
• Felician was reduced to 10 men with 4:30 left when Rafael Alonso picked up his second yellow card. Kristoffersen made the initial save on Rynning's ensuing free kick before
Tim Wilk's rebound try went off the side of the net.
Second Overtime
• 5:06 into the second overtime, Felician's clearance attempt from inside the 18-yard box went direrctly to Sanchez, who one-timed it home to send the Lions to the Semifinals.
Lion Stat Leaders
•
Sander Rynning scored one goal.
•
Bryan Sanchez scored one goal.
•
Joseph Juarez picked up one assist.
•
Lennox Blue Lebelt finished with six saves.
For the Golden Falcons
• Bartu Yakkan scored one goal.
• Mathias Kristoffersen made 10 saves.
News and Notes
• Tonight marked the first time GCU has won a postseason game in overtime since they took down Holy Family, 2-1, in the Opening Round of the 2018 CACC Tournament. Francisco Corral scored the game-winner just :44 into the first overtime.
• Sanchez's goal is the latest game-winning goal (regular season or postseason) in program history (105:06), surpassing Garrett McVeigh's goal (104:40) against Chestnut Hill on September 11, 2013. That was the 3rd ever match in program history.
• The Lions have eliminated Felician from the CACC Tournament twice in the past four seasons. Both occasions occurred on the road and both matches went past 90 minutes. Back in 2023, the Lions advanced out of the First Round on PK's, 6-5 after the teams played to a 2-2 draw.
• GCU improved to 2-0-3 all-time in the conference tournament when a match goes past 90 minutes. They did lose in 2 OT to Concordia College (NY) but that came in the shortened Spring 2021 season.
•
Gijs van Eif made his 60
th career appearance.
• The Lions improved to 1-1 all-time on Halloween, avenging their 2015 loss to Caldwell (That match was a make-up from October 10).
Up Next
• Georgian Court hosts No. 7 seed Post on Tuesday afternoon in the CACC Tournament Semifinals.
