NEWBERG, Ore. - The George Fox Men's soccer team ties Puget Sound in the 82nd minute of an intense back-and-forth match after a recovery by Lidington finds the net, 3-3.
How it Happened
The first half saw George Fox press the Loggers early with a shot on goal by
Merric Marino in just the 2nd minute. Eight minutes later, Bruins
Wilson Fresh and Maxwell Visser charged up through the field, with a defender blocking Fresh's shot and Visser grabbing the rebound and missing just feet from the right side of the goal.
Puget Sound broke the rigorous stalemate with their first shot of the day being a goal by Joel Wollin, whose shot bounced up over the leg of Bruin goalie
Chase Nelson and into the goal. The Bruins continued to fight and did not allow another shot until Logger Rhys Foot snuck a goal into a crowded net to put the game at 2-0 in the 15th minute.
What happened next was a series of gritty battles for ball possession and very few shot opportunities by the teams. Eventually, Fox found themselves pushing a free kick down in Logger territory, where Allison interfered with Visser in a header battle, putting Fox in position for a penalty kick.
Zac LeVin, who missed a PK opportunity earlier this year, found revenge in a shot that went left of center and made the goalie dive far right.
Three minutes later, Fox midfielder
Wilson Fresh retained possession of the ball in Puget Sound's goal box, but an illegal mid-air hit stopped his drive short. This gave George Fox another PK opportunity, this time taken by Bruin
Aidan Brouddus. The shot was placed in the left corner, and Allison was unable to dive far enough to reach the goal that brought the game to a tie, 2-2.
Pressure was on in the second half. Tapia took a shot in the 45th minute, which was blocked by a Logger, but LeVin was able to gain possession of the ball and take a shot as well, shooting just left of goal. Then, it was Puget Sound's turn to strike with a deep run and a fast shot from Logger Jackson Smith, which was deflected into the Bruin goal.
Nelson received a red card late in the game for denying a goal scoring opportunity, giving
Patrick O'Brien a chance in the net. The Loggers's attempted the free-kick outside the box before O'Brien thwarted a near goal opportunity, keeping the Bruins still in the game. The Bruins took this chance O'Brien gave to them and made three embattled runs at the goal until they pressured the defense all the way back when
Aiden Schultz assisted
Luke Lidington for the equalizer following a blocked shot from
Carson Tapia. The game was tied at 3-3 with only eight minutes left. The Loggers were unable to score on a determined George Fox defense despite pulling off two more shots.
Top Performances
Brouddus and LeVin each scored the important penalty kick goals, and the efforts of Liddington and Schultz gave the Bruins the tying goal of the game through a mass of defenders.
What This Means
The Bruins now sit at 3-8-3 (NWC 3-6-3) while Puget Sound goes 5-1-6 (4-1-5).
Coach's Thoughts
"This group of young men continue to show incredible grit and determination," said Bruin head coach
Paul Karver. "Today's game presented a number of challenging opportunities to lose composure but we continued to go to work, even a man and a goal down. Earning the draw and coming from behind twice is a testament to this group and how much they believe in each other."
What Happens Next
The Bruins will play Linfield in McMinnville, Ore., on Saturday, October 24th.
