Lehman's goal in OT lifts Mustangs

“It was nerve-wracking.”

So said Mullen’s Ethan Lehman. And it was. Mullen found itself in overtime at home against Smoky Hill on Thursday after the visiting Buffaloes had certainly buzzed the Mustangs net late in regulation, even clanking two hard, point-blank shots off the crossbar and one of the posts.

However, less than 5 minutes into the extra session, Lehman instinctively went to the Buffaloes net. He saw a good strike attempt by Eli Kerschen get saved and it came right out front to him. So Lehman deposited the rebound, Mullen earned a key Centennial League victory and looked toward the final week of regular-season play with confidence.

“Yeah, it was a huge win for us, huge,” Mustangs head coach Matthew Guglielmo said. “(A loss) would have put us in a little peril in the RPI (playoff qualifying) … this one probably makes us safe going forward.”

Lehman, a freshman, dutifully fired it home for his fourth goal in 2019 and first since Sept. 19.

“Ethan hadn’t scored for us in a while, so good for him,” Guglielmo said.

Lehman said Kerschen “had a good strike off the keeper’s hands and it came right to me … it was a good feeling.”

Mullen improved to 8-4-1 overall, 3-2-1 in league.

After a 1-1 first half, Smoky Hill grabbed a 2-1 edge 8 minutes into the second half when it caught Mullen keeper Ethan Heffern out of position, but in the 58^th minute the Mustangs copped the equalizer on a sharp header by Cole Dempsey off a long feed down the center by Luke Elges.

Kerschen, who matched Lehman with a goal and an assist, had Mullen’s opening score.

Heffern turned in 10 saves against a Buffs team that dipped to 6-6-1, 1-3-1, but has talent.

“They could have won the game, they could have won,” Guglielmo said of the Buffs. “(But) we responded. I will tell you that I did not think we played very well in that game. We looked kind of sloppy, we looked sluggish, which we don’t normally do … we had loads of opportunities that we squandered. That being said, our guy came through when we needed it most and that’s what really mattered.”

Mullen will wrap up its league schedule on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at Overland in Aurora, 4:30 p.m. The regular-season finale will be against Skyline on Friday, Oct. 25, 4:30 p.m.