CUMBERLAND — Twenty minutes from a disappointing letdown to Fort Hill, Southern simply refused to allow a repeat of last year.
It was like Déjà vu to the Rams’ 4-1 loss in its previous bout with the Sentinels at Greenway Avenue Stadium. Liam Hamilton scored a goal and assisted on two more to Sam Spencer, and trailing 3-1, Southern was minutes from a repeat.
But Shane Sisler banged in a 35-yard yard strike in the 62nd minute to give Southern a shot in the arm, and Hamilton was sent off with a red card 10 minutes later to put Fort Hill down a man.
With all the momentum, Southern’s Ben Lohr scored the equalizer with 8:41 to go and the winner with 2:10 left in overtime to lift the Rams to a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Fort Hill on Tuesday.
“We need to come out and play from the beginning with fire,” Southern head coach Jon Price said. “We gave them some confidence early. We didn’t handle throw-ins and corner kicks real well, and that’s what they do well. Next thing you know, you’re 3-1 down fighting your way back.
“I do like to see that we have that moxie to fight our way back, but I don’t want to fight our way back. … Our boys dug down deep and found a way to get a win.”
The Western Maryland Athletic Conference tilt seemed ripe for a letdown after Southern (5-1 overall, 3-1 WestMAC) gave unbeaten Mountain Ridge everything it could handle in a 1-0 thriller on Thursday.
Especially with Fort Hill (4-3-1 overall, 1-3 WestMAC) gaining confidence riding a four-game win streak.
Neither team was at full strength, as Southern lost defensive starter Nathaniel Argabrite before the game and Fort Hill was again without starters Korbin McKenzie, Grant McElvie and John Reinhardt.
Fort Hill jumped out to a 3-1 lead thanks to two set-piece goals and a counter attack score — both necessities with Southern controlling the majority of the possession.
The game changed, however, when Hamilton received his second yellow card for a foul on a Southern build-up with 8:47 remaining.
Six seconds later, Tommy Scott sent a free kick into the box, and Lohr tapped it in to force extra time.
Fort Hill keeper Leland Garcia did everything in his power to keep the short-handed Sentinels in the game making 15 saves, but Lohr found the winner in the 98th minute to cap his hat trick.
“You just saw the transformation of what this team has been over the last two weeks,” Fort Hill head coach Zach Steckman said. “These boys, all credit to them, they played their hearts out. A man down. Arguably the best player in the area gets a questionable red card, and they fought for 98 minutes.
“Leland Garcia is the best freaking goalkeeper in the area, and I’ll stand by that.”
It was a dream start for Fort Hill and a disastrous one for Southern.
Lucas Evans connected with an unmarked Hamilton on the far post for a header goal just 1:17 into the game.
Southern responded 46 seconds later with a Lohr put-back, and the Rams followed with a barrage of shots and one-sided possession.
All it took was one defensive letdown when Southern lost track of Hamilton on a counter attack, and Hamilton beat the man in front of him to the corner and found Spencer on the far post for a tap-in goal.
Hamilton, who usually plays up top, played a myriad of positions with Fort Hill missing backline and midfield pieces. The junior spent time at right back, center back, midfield and made all throw-ins from both sides of the pitch.
His long throw-in with 22:42 to play soared over a leaping Southern keeper Jared Haskiell, and Spencer tapped in another goal for the 3-1 lead.
Hamilton is the area’s leading scorer with 32 points on 11 goals and 10 assists through eight games.
“Our recognition of where he was on the field was not good,” Price said. “We had guys that didn’t realize that Liam had the ball who were stabbing at it. That’s Liam. Compose yourself. … He’s the show.”
Fort Hill has a tough road ahead of it hosting No. 1 Mountain Ridge (7-0 overall, 5-0 WestMAC) on Thursday at 6 p.m. without Hamilton as he’ll be suspended following his red card.
Southern hopes for a get-right game at home against Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“A win’s a win. It keeps us on our course of where we want to go,” Price said. “Sometimes you just have to find a way to get a win, and these guys are showing that ability.”