SALISBURY, N.C. – The Montevallo men's soccer team showed a resilience on Thursday night, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to earn a season opening 3-3 draw at Catawba.
"Tonight we shadowed something that only comes from leadership and the heart. We kept going after the game no matter the score," said Head Coach
Bruce Dietterle. "We have a lot to clean up, but we save a game versus a very good team. I am extremely proud of this group."
Catawba held control of the game early, with its first shot coming in the sixth minute. The Indians continued to bode well on the offensive end, taking the first four shots before scoring the first goal in the 21
st minute. Catawba followed that up with another goal in the 23
rd minute. Montevallo finally recorded its first shot of the game in the 26
th minute, which came off the foot of
Alex Errasti. The Falcons continued to push on the offensive end with a few more shots, but the Indians would take the 2-0 lead into the half.
Catawba extended its lead to 3-0 in the second half with a goal in the 54
th minute.
Montevallo finally recorded its first goal of the season in the 63
rd minute, as graduate student
Mark Shoebridge scored to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Catawba held possession for most of the next 20 minutes but failed to connect on multiple shot attempts. Montevallo looked to push late down by two goals with time, not on the Falcons side.
Sebastian Flores would deliver, putting the ball in the net on an assist from
Cristobal Porter in the 87
th minute. A costly offsides call at 89:13 would prevent Catawba from holding the ball for the final 47 seconds. 20 seconds later, the Falcons took advantage as
Jens Krieger delivered a ball to
Seth Acton, who scored the equalizer to knot the game at three. Montevallo held strong the final 27 seconds to preserve the 3-3 draw.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 3 | Catawba 3
Records: Montevallo 0-0-1 | Catawba 0-0-1
Location: Frock Field | Salisbury, N.C.
GAME NOTES:
- Catawba held a slight 19-18 advantage in shots.
- Valles Gilbert recorded four saves, all coming in the second half.
- Catawba was given eight corners with Montevallo taking just five.
- The Falcons scored two goals in the final three minutes.