SUPERIOR, Wis. – Well that was a wild one.
 
For people in attendance Saturday at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex, about the only way the Yellowjacket men's soccer match with Bethany Lutheran could be described was wild. The teams combined for 21 fouls and five yellow cards. There were nearly a dozen stoppages in play for injured players. There were 35 shots attempted, 16 shots on goal, and 11 goals scored.
 
The 90 minutes of regulation play decided nothing, so the teams headed for overtime, but on this day they wouldn't need much of the extra session.

Less than two minutes in Blake Perry (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) scored his second goal of the match and team-leading sixth of the season to give the Yellowjackets a full-blooded 6-5 win over Bethany Lutheran.
 
Perry broke down the left sideline, and noticing Bethany Lutheran goalkeeper Max Steffen was off his line, chipped a shot into the goal to give the Yellowjackets the win 1:17 into overtime. With the win, the Yellowjackets (4-0, 3-0 UMAC) remain unbeaten atop the conference standings.
 
Things looked promising early, as the Yellowjackets opened the scoring just 5:19 into the match when Scott Wilson (Ladybank, Scotland/Bell Baxter) got in tight and tipped a Miguel Ocampo (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park) corner kick into the top of the goal to make it 1-0. The lead didn't last long, however, as Bethany tied the match just over two minutes later when Vincent Ayodi hammered the ball past Yellowjacket goalkeeper Ulrik Lager (Vollen, Norway/Asker VGS).
 
The Yellowjackets regained the lead at 25:42 of the opening half. Protus Babaya (Elk River, Minn./Elk River), who scored three times in the last contest for the Yellowjackets, got the ball on the right side of the box and scored on the header to put the Yellowjackets back in front.
 
Once again Bethany Lutheran had an answer when Thijs Middledorp scored at 34:48 to make it 2-2.
 
It stayed that way into the second half, and just over 10 minutes in Bethany Lutheran took its first lead of the day. Max Busch converted a feed from Cameron Brookfield to make the score 3-2.

This time it was the Yellowjackets' turn to come from behind, and they evened things very quickly. Mason Tynsky (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) was fouled in the box leading to a penalty kick, and Wilson converted, scoring his second of the match to tie things 3-3 at 58:02. It was the second time this season Wilson has converted a penalty kick.
 
Just 24 seconds later the Yellowjackets pulled back in front, with Perry scoring from the left win at 58:36, making it 4-3.
 
But as had been the case all day, the Vikings came back. Cameron Brookfield scored at 65:38 to make the score 4-4.
 
With just under 14 minutes to play the Yellowjackets again moved ahead. Perry started the play with a brilliant pass from the left wing into the box, and Phillip Eriksen (Skjetten, Norway/Lorenskog) finished it, scoring from the right side of the box at 76:40. There was no backflip this time around, but there was a jubilant celebration as the Yellowjackets took a 5-4 lead.

Then, with just under 10 minutes to go, Busch scored his second for the Vikings, to again pull them even.

The Yellowjackets had some golden opportunities in the final 10 minutes, but it would take until overtime for them to break the tie and get their fourth victory of the season.
 
It was another big game for Perry, as he finished with two goals and an assist along with a team-best three shots on goal. Ocampo also had a multi-point match, finishing with two assists.
 
It was a tough afternoon for the goalkeepers. Lager finished with just one save on six shots, while at the other end Steffen made four saves on 10 shots.
 
The Yellowjackets will be back home Wednesday, April 14 when they host Crown College. The opening kick is set for 3:30 p.m. at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.