OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: The Texas Wesleyan University men's soccer team (7-3-1, 1-1-1 SAC) played to a 2-2 draw at Mid-America Christian University (5-3-1, 1-0-1 SAC) in Sooner Athletic Conference play on Tuesday.
MACU came out firing, piling up a 15-5 shot count in the first half. The Evangels struck first when Peterson Neri found his brother Gleydson Neri darting across the middle of the box in the 19th minute.
For the second game in a row, the Rams scored on their first shot attempt. This time it was
Ross McArthur knocking in his second goal of the season in the 21st minute.
In the 73rd minute,
Preston Baker scored for the second consecutive game, this time with an assist to McArthur. It appeared that that goal would hold up as the game-winner. With time winding down on the Evangels, Gleydson Neri was issued his second yellow card of the game in the 85th minute. However, seconds later, Devin Theisen scored to tie the game at 2-2.
The Rams had the better of play in the overtime periods as they outshot MACU 5-0 and led 4-0 in corner kicks, but MACU's Tyler McIntosh came up with two of his four saves in the second OT to preserve the tie.
Marko Jovanovic (7-3-1) made eight saves for the Rams. For the game, the Evangels outshot the Rams 26-15. Corner kicks were even at 7-7, and the Rams battled a 25-11 foul count. The game featured a whopping 10 cautions, five being issued to each team.
The Rams will return to action on Saturday, when they host Southwestern Assemblies of God University at Martin Field. That game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start
Ramblings
- The Rams are now 2-1-1 all-time against MACU and 12-5-2 in SAC play. The Rams lead the all-time series with SAGU 13-1-1.
- This was Texas Wesleyan's first tie score since a 1-1 draw at John Brown University (10/25/14) in a game that was cut short by dense fog.
