Conejo Martin, Green, Stam honored during Senior Night; Pontikis' late goal with 12.6 seconds left critical for SSU in 3-3 tie with Midway

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The men's soccer program at Shawnee State fights until the very last second of every match it plays in.

That, as a result, has allowed SSU to overcome different types of trials and tribulations throughout the 2024 season.

On a night where Shawnee State honored three veteran leaders of its men's soccer program in Guillermo Conejo Martin, Eric Green and Matt Stam, the Bears took a 1-0 lead within the first 10 minutes of the match against the Midway Eagles' men's soccer program off of Théo Cavaleiro Trindade's ninth minute goal.

Then, after falling behind after an equalizing goal by Midway to tie the match at one apiece in the first half and a second-half opening salvo by the Eagles, Alfie Maynard scored an equalizing goal in the 74th frame, seemingly bringing Shawnee State right back into the fight again as the Bears tied the score at two apiece.

Midway, however, scored in the 76th minute to take a 3-2 lead -- and as the game wound down, it led to a frantic finish that won't soon be forgotten.

With under 40 seconds to play, Shawnee State capitalized on an excellent advance, and on a free kick, Nikos Pontikis, who assisted on the first goal of the evening, hammered home a goal off of a pass from Conejo Martin with just 12.6 seconds left in the match to force a 3-3 tie in the regular season finale and Senior Night for the Shawnee State men's soccer program, which was held at Shawnee Turf in Portsmouth Wednesday evening.

The Rundown

For the contest, Shawnee State outshot Midway by a commanding 16-6 count and only allowed the Eagles to post three shots on goal in the River States Conference matchup. To Midway's credit, however, the Eagles -- despite only posting three shots on goal in the contest -- capitalized on all three chances to make Shawnee State sweat in the barnburning contest.

Still, the Bears persevered, and despite not playing its best, used Pontikis' shot to claim the draw, which seals the No. 4 seed for Shawnee State in the River States Conference Tournament outcome as Shawnee State posted 14 points for the 2024 season. This means that the Bears, for just the second time in program history, will host a conference tournament game at home -- having previously done so against Georgetown during the 2020-21 season.

Midway, who has eight points currently in the standings, won't finish with more than 11 tallies regardless of what happens in the Eagles' contest against Indiana-East while the Red Wolves, who have six points, can't finish with more than nine themselves as wins count for three points and ties count for a single point regardless of conference opponent.

Both Midway and Indiana-East play one another Saturday evening in what will be the final contest of the regular season for both teams in a game that will be held in Midway, Ky.

SSU will play host to Midway in the River States Conference Quarterfinals if Midway wins or draws with Indiana-East Saturday, while the Bears will host the Red Wolves in the RSC Quarters if IU-East defeats Midway head-to-head on Saturday.

A full rundown of the River States Conference Standings can be found at https://riverstatesconference.com/standings.aspx?standings=71.

Trindade comes out firing

Coming out with exceptional energy, Shawnee State posted three shots over the opening nine minutes of the contest alone.

The third shot, a committed blast from Théo Cavaleiro Trindade, ultimately hit home.

Behind a series of great ball movement in and around the box, Pontikis found Trindade for a shot inside the box that the freshman ripped home for goal No. 3 and point No. 9 of the 2024 campaign.

Maynard scores on massive opportunity in 74th

After seeing Midway first draw even in the 19th on a shot by Midway's Henry Alvor, then go ahead on a 49th minute shot by Ben Banton, the Bears and the Eagles each traded runs for much of the next 25 minutes before Alfie Maynard struck with a jolt of thunder in the 74th minute.

Taking an excellent punt by Eric Green that landed around the midfield stripe and bounced high off of the turf once, Maynard was able to control the ball and establish a run that allowed the junior to take on Midway junior goalkeeper Connor Vincent successfully, as the midfielder beat Vincent with a brilliant touch that led to the skilled Englishman's second goal of the season -- and his sixth point in all.

Pontikis finishes off match with splendid connection

In the latter stage of the contest, however, Shawnee State fell behind again -- as Midway took the lead back just two minutes later on a finish by Martin Escobar off of a pass from Owen Clements to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead heading into the waning moments of the contest.

However, just as all hope seemed lost, the Bears' leader on the pitch responded.

With just under a minute to play, Shawnee State made one final run down the pitch -- and capitalized on it as the Bears were able to get an opportunity that Pontikis blasted home with mere seconds to spare, as Conejo Martin found Pontikis after a brief scramble to send the Shawnee State crowd into a frenzy.

The conversion marked the third second-half assist for Conejo Martin within the last 12 days that helped provide SSU with a positive match result -- and puts the senior at four assists and six goals for the 2024 season -- while Pontikis upped his numbers to seven goals, four assists and 18 points for the 2024 campaign with his ninth minute assist to begin the match and his 90th minute goal to end it. Each of those numbers lead the team or are tied for the team lead.

Seniors

No. 1 – Eric Green – Wheelersburg, Ohio

One of the most accomplished goalkeepers in the history of the local area, one word describes Shawnee State senior captain Eric Green.

Winner.

The goalkeeper on a 2020 Wheelersburg boys soccer unit that became just the second team in Scioto County's sports history to reach the state semifinals, otherwise known as the OHSAA Final Four, Green has proceeded to provide similar leadership on Shawnee State's most successful three-season stretch in program history, helping SSU go 24-23-6 during that timespan.

After playing some of the 2022 campaign, Green assumed the goalkeeping duties for good in 2023 and has proceeded to rack up 132 saves over the past two seasons. Green has played and started in 35 matches over the course of his career and has a 1.69 career GAA with 147 career saves to boot following Wednesday's contest.

Green has posted seven clean sheets over the course of his career, has now earned three River States Conference Defensive Player of the Week Awards, and was a Third-Team All-RSC honoree in 2023. His favorite memory was holding Lindsey Wilson College to a shutout and preserving a 0-0 draw against a team that finished the 2023 season ranked fourth in the country.

"Shawnee State has allowed me to pursue both my future career and my passion for soccer at an affordable rate, in an environment that feels like home," Green said. "My teammates have allowed me an opportunity to partake in a community that's incredibly diverse and culturally rich, which has taught me not only about the game of soccer, but life as well."

Green, who holds a GPA that exceeds 3.8 in biomedical sciences, plans to attend medical school en route to becoming a Primary Care Physician in underserved areas.

"I want to thank my parents, as well as Coach (Chris) Murphy, Athletic Director (Gerald) Cadogan, all of my teammates and coaches, the Athletic Department staff, and those who give their time to work on gamedays," Green said.

No. 10 – Guillermo Conejo Martin – Malaga, Spain

A consistent presence in the Shawnee State lineup throughout his four-season career with the men's soccer program, SSU senior midfielder Guillermo Conejo Martin has scored eight goals and posted seven assists to accumulate 23 points over the course of his Shawnee State career.

Gui, who has played in 71 games over his SSU career and started in 64 of those contests following Thursday's match, simply has a knack for coming up large in clutch moments -- as evidenced on Wednesday.

Gui's favorite memory at Shawnee State, so far, has been Oct. 8, 2022 – where Shawnee State went to Campbellsville and scored a 4-3 victory over the Tigers, a pivotal match that ultimately went a long way toward clinch Shawnee State's best-ever record at 11-8 in 2022. However, Gui hopes that this memory is replaced by winning the conference tournament this coming year and having the opportunity to play in the NAIA National Tournament.

"It's been an unforgettable experience," Conejo said of playing collegiate soccer at Shawnee State. "It was something that I could not have imagined five years ago and I saw something that was super far from my possibilities, but today I am here achieving one of the greatest achievements of my life."

Having led SSU to its most successful three year stretch in program history at 24-23-6, Conejo Martin credits that buy-in to that of his teammates.

They have been absolutely everything for me, from the first one I met to the last," Conejo Martin said. "I feel that each and every one of them is now a part of my family, and I will love them all of my life. And to my coaches, Goody (Ron Goodson), Natasha (Ademakinwa) and Stan (Rodrigues), I am very grateful for them to have trusted me and giving me the opportunity to enjoy both off and on the field."

Academically, Gui holds a GPA above 3.3 in exercise science. His future plans are to return to Spain to spend time with his family that he hasn't seen over the past four years and become a physical education teacher, which is his dream job.

"I would like to thank many people, starting with my parents and my brother, but in this moment, I would also like to remember my two grandmothers, who supported me so much over the previous three seasons," Conejo Martin said. "While they unfortunately haven't been able to do so this past season, I am sure that they continue to give me strength from up above."

In addition to the above duo, Shawnee State has another key player that already participated in Senior Night festivities, but came back to aid Shawnee State along through his own leadership qualities.

Additional

Matt Stam, who holds a GPA above 3.75 in marketing, has appeared in 51 games, started 23 matches, and has two goals and two assists in his SSU career as a player who has contributed in many different areas of the field. Stam participated in Senior Day festivities last season but chose to return with eligibility remaining to assist in the direction of the program in a further manner.

Shawnee State will get a week's rest before returning to action for the River States Conference Quarterfinals. Its opponent at that juncture will be announced Saturday evening.