SALEM, W.Va. (Oct. 15) - A goal by senior Javier Ruiz (Mexico City, Mexico/Universidad del Valle de Mexico) with under 15 seconds remaining in the second overtime lifted the Tigers over Alderson Broaddus Thursday evening at Catalano Stadium.

The victory improves the Salem International University men's soccer team to 5-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), 7-5-1 overall. Meanwhile, the Battlers fall to 8-4-1 overall, 5-3 in league play.

The match appeared to be headed to a draw in the final minute of the second overtime before sophomore Alejandro De la Macorra (Mexico City, Mexico/Colegio Vista Hermosa) sent a ball to the left corner of the field that was tracked down by Ruiz. Ruiz then dribbled into the box and chipped the ball above the charging goalkeeper. Despite the desperation effort of the Battler goalkeeper, he could not prevent the Ruiz shot from crossing the goal line, giving the Tigers a huge G-MAC win.

Salem International moves into fourth place in the G-MAC standings, sitting two games behind league leader Cedarville (7-2 G-MAC), who is the only team to have clinched a postseason berth.

The match was relatively quiet until the 18th minute when junior Alexandre Costet (Saint Etienne, France/Leonard de Vinci) got behind the defense, but his shot went over the net to keep the game scoreless.

Costet made up for the errant shot 12 minutes later when he took a pass along the sideline from junior Samir Amzil and beat the keeper to the near side to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Alderson Broaddus put the pressure on from the start of the second half. Sophomore goalkeeper Dom Gillespie (Whitley Bay, England/Whitley Bay) shut the door each time, including a phenomenal save in the 54th minute. The Battlers attempted a corner kick that was redirected in front of the far side post back across to the near side post. Gillespie made a desperation save to deflect the ball away from the net and preserve the one goal lead.

Despite the efforts of Gillespie, the Battlers were awarded with a penalty kick in the 86th minute and converted to tie the game. The kick was awarded after a foul on a tackle attempt near the goal.

Salem International nearly ended the match before the end of regulation, but Ruiz's shot from just inside the box with less than a minute remaining flew over the crossbar.

The Tigers outshot Alderson Broaddus 15-to-11, with each team putting seven shots on net. The Battlers held a nine-to-five advantage in corner kicks, while Salem International was caught offside four times in the match.

The Tigers conclude their 2015 regular season home schedule Saturday, Oct. 17 when they host Davis & Elkins on Senior Day at Catalano Stadium. The five senior men's soccer players will be honored before the 3 p.m. kickoff for their contributions to the program.