BOSSIER CITY, La. – Battling a torrential down pour, a change of venue and physical play by the McMurry University, the East Texas Baptist University men's soccer team pushed the WarHawks to the limit, resulting in a 2-2 tie on Saturday night from Freedom Fields in Bossier City. The outcome of the American Southwest Conference match puts ETBU at 3-3-1 overall and 1-2-1 in conference play.
Juan Cairo led the charge for the Tigers, scoring a goal on four shot attempts.
Daniel Rutter also scored his first goal of the season while putting up two shots of his own.
Max Ponticorvo tallied three shots,
Travis Floyd chipped in two attempts and four players all tied with one shot each on the night.
Bryant Botello collected three saves in the tightly contested match. As a team, ETBU launched 16 total shots to McM's 13. Each team fired five shots right on goal.
Cairo came out of the gate looking to make an early statement, launching three shots in the first 15 minutes of the match. The fourth attempt was able to find the net at the 17:05 mark of the period, giving the Tigers the 1-0 lead.
Ten minutes later, Rutter had an answer for ETBU, coming up with the game's second goal on a breakaway to increase the lead to 2-0 at the 27:59 mark. The Tigers would then hold the 2-0 lead after heading into the half. ETBU held the advantage in shot attempts at 11-3, too.
Both teams would battle for much of the second period, until the Warhawks seized momentum with their first goal off of a penalty kick at the 83
rd minute to bring the score to 2-1.McM responded with another goal just three minutes later, tying the ballgame at 2-2 down the stretch. A crucial save by Botello prevented a third goal by the Warhawks in the final minute of play, leading to the overtime session.
Neither team was able to capitalize in both overtime session, as the match ended with a 2-2 stalemate.
ETBU will take the long trek to Alpine, Texas, for an ASC match with Sul Ross State University on Thursday, Sept. 27. The match is set to kick-off at 3:30 p.m.
