Mena, Arkansas – The Bucks men's soccer team played their first game in a week on Thursday afternoon against Eastern Oklahoma State in a Region II contest. In a very heated battle, the Bucks (4-1-2 overall; 1-0-2) and Mountaineers (3-4-1 overall; 1-2-1) would go into double overtime and finish with a 2-2 draw.
Being off for a week and only practicing/scrimmaging themselves showed for the Bucks, and EOSC started the game with lots of intensity and wanted to control the game early. The Bucks would get an offensive possession that ended with a shot by Caleb Summerfield (Plymouth, England) but was unsuccessful. EOSC would counter with a corner kick and goal off of a rebound by #4 Dani Huerta to take an early 1-0 lead just nine minutes into the game. Maurice Theart (Parklands, South Africa), Bryan Crespo (Brossard, Canada), and Summerfield all got into the offensive production with shots for the Bucks. But, EOSC countered with a goal when #19 Tyler Broughton caught the Bucks' keeper too high and shot over his head. The Bucks would respond with a corner kick by Josh Gounden (Durban, South Africa) that resulted in a hand ball by EOSC in the penalty area. Javier Pena (San Antonio, TX) would connect on the PK to cut the Mountaineer lead to 2-1. The Bucks and Mountaineers would trade possessions to end the half.
The Bucks carried their late first half momentum into the second half and found the back of the net just four minutes into the half. An EOSC foul lead to a goal by Josh Gounden on a free kick to tie the match at 2-2. After trading shots, the match would come then turn into a defensive battle. Neither team recorded a shot between the 58th and 74th minute by EOSC. Theart and Bo Meyer (Gent, Belgium) would both make attempts at the winning goal late in the half but were unsuccessful. Regulation would end with the 2-2 tie.
To start the first overtime, both teams went with an offensive strategy. The Bucks and Mountaineers would trade shots twice in the period before Euwin Stevens (Cape Town, South Africa) and Bo Meyer would have desperation attempts to end the half. EOSC came out firing in the final overtime period with two shots of their own before Stevens' shot would be wide of the goal. EOSC would get another look, but goal keeper Julio Porto (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) would shut the door and record his most important save of the night. With two minutes before the end of the match, EOSC's Leonardo Schulz would receive a yellow card, but neither team generated any offense. The draw would be the Bucks' second draw of Region II play.
The Bucks would out shoot the Mountaineers with 17 shots (10 on goal) to 9 (6 on goal) in the match. EOSC had two corner kicks to the Bucks' seven. EOSC's keeper, Carlos Dias Neto, recorded 5 saves on the evening, while Porto recorded 4 saves in the draw.
The Bucks will be back in action on Sunday, September 29th, at 3 pm vs. Rose State College. The match will be played at Bearcat Stadium in Mena, AR.
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