September 12, 2021 (Mena, Arkansas) - The Rich Mountain Bucks (0-2-1; 0-1-1 in Region 2 play) came into the match looking for their first win of the season. Their opponent would be a familiar one, the Rose State Raiders. The Bucks and Raiders have played for the last two Region 2 Championships and split in those matches. 

In the first half, the Bucks looked to press and start fast. The Bucks would do both. In the 11th minute, Antonio Galarzo (Mallorca, Spain) played a negative ball across the front of the net that allowed Barkan Kilic (Braunschweig, Germany) to put the ball in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. After the kickoff, it took the Bucks less than a minute to do it again. This time Dawson Sawyer (Brechin, Scotland) entered the ball into the box and found Barkan Kilic for his second goal of the match. With the 2-0 lead, the Bucks started to break down in the middle third, but they would hang onto the 2-0 lead heading to halftime. 

Rose State picked up where they left off to start the half and would score a goal within the first 10 minutes of the half. With the 2-1 lead, the Bucks were trying to solve the middle third. Late in the half in the 88th minute, Rose State would tie the game at 2-2 and send the game to overtime. 

In the 94th minute, the Bucks would get a chance to win the game on a penalty kick. The Rose keeper came off line too quick on the first attempt, and the Bucks got another attempt. However, the Rose keeper made the save again to continue the match. The Bucks would continue to press, and the Raiders countered. However, the match would go into a second overtime.

In the second overtime, the Bucks and Raiders both made runs and counters of their own, but all would be for not. The game would end in a draw, 2-2.

In the match, keeper Edward Garcia (De Queen, AR) made 12 saves in the match.

The Bucks play again on Thursday, September 16th, against National Park College. Kickoff is at 2 pm at Tapley Park. 

#GOBUCKS