AUBURN — On a bad day, the St. Dom’s boys’ soccer team managed a pretty good win.

The Saints had to rally from behind in the second half Wednesday. After forcing overtime, St. Dom’s won the game in overtime to stay unbeaten. It was a win the Saints were able to produce despite not playing their best brand of soccer.

“We’re on a busy week with a lot of playing and a lot of practicing,” said St. Dom’s coach Matt Erickson, whose team is ranked second in Western C, just ahead of the third-seeded Bulldogs. “I just thought we looked a little tired today. We were a bit flat.”

Though the Saints dominated the opening half, the teams were tied at the half. Hall-Dale then took the lead early in the second half, scoring its second goal on just three shots in the game. St. Dom’s was able to rally and force overtime before netting the game-winner with 1:16 left in the first five-minute session. Jack Erickson had two goals, including the tying and winning tallies. Alex Parker had a goal and an assist.

“We kind of get stuck in that complacency when we know we’re playing well,” Jack Erickson said. “We know we have chances, but they’re not going in. We know they’re going to come. So we don’t press as much as we should.”

Erickson got the game-winner late in the first overtime. Parker won the ball on the right wing and crossed it to the front of the net. Erickson was at the left post and redirected it past charging Hall-Dale keeper Jonathan McNaughton.

“I didn’t see the goalie coming out,” Jack Erickson said. “I was two yards from the 6, so I knew he’d be coming out. So I knew I needed to touch it past him.”

The Saints (8-0-1) dominated the opening half, outshooting the Bulldogs (6-3) 11-2, but had to settle for a 1-1 tie. Parker had numerous tries early and even hit the crossbar. He scored 7:41 into the game when he turned and fired a shot in off the keeper’s hands.

Hall-Dale got that back with 19:26 left in the half. Austin Bechard made a rush and got a shot off. Sam Shepherd was there to take advantage of a loose ball and bobble by the keeper to tie it.

“They played a great game,” said Matt Erickson, whose team beat the Bulldogs 2-0 earlier in the season. “Give a lot of credit to Hall-Dale. I think they had a good technical game today. They’ve improved from last game. We were looking forward to today, and I was impressed with what they brought.”

Hall-Dale stepped up its game and played a strong first 20 minutes in the second half. The Bulldogs took the lead when Shepherd netted his second of the game. There was a loose ball and the Saints’ defense was scrambling. Shepherd was there to chip it in with 27:58 left in regulation.

“It was a wake-up call,” Jack Erickson said. “It’s too bad that we needed that. It definitely let us know that we had to put it in the net.”

The Saints picked up their play over the final 20 minutes of the half and got the equalizer with 16:10 remaining. Erickson chipped one in off the keeper’s hands.

When the younger Erickson was given a yellow card with 11:35 left, it left St. Dom’s shorthanded and the Saints’ momentum stalled.  The Saints got rolling again to start overtime and were able to finish the job in the closing minutes.

“Having Jack out at the end of the game was a problem for us,” Matt Erickson said. “The bench play stepped it up, and we got the job done, ultimately.”

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