Carthage 1, Gettysburg 1
GETTYSBURG - The Carthage men's soccer traveled to Pennsylvania to face off with the Gettysburg Bullets on Thursday evening. After a scoreless first half, Gettysburg took a lead early in the second half. The Firebirds used a last second goal to avoid defeat, earning their first draw of the season.
The two teams played strong defensively throughout the first half, holding each other scoreless through the opening 45 minutes of play. The Firebirds outshot the Bullets 4-3 in the period, with Aidan Crowder registering the lone shot on goal for the Firebirds in the half. Goalkeeper Evan Kowalski made two saves in the half.
The Bullets found the scoreboard early in the second half with a 51st minute goal by Noah Holgado. The Firebirds struggled to regain momentum for most of the second half and the Bullets continued to take attempts to extend the lead. Kowalski made a pair of saves on a corner kick in the 78th minute, as he deflected a header and then saved the rebound shot to keep the score at 1-0 Gettysburg.
All hope appeared to be lost for the Firebirds as the final minutes ticked away. In the final minute of the match, Jethro Yumange had a shot blocked out of bounds, forcing a corner kick with 30 seconds to play. Yumange sent the corner into the box, where Josh Barry found the ball and snuck a pass through the defense to the far corner where Mickey Reilly scored the game-tying goal to level the final score at 1-1 with 13.5 seconds to play.
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- Reilly scored his second goal of the season and the 43rd of his career.
- Yumange earned his second assist of the season.
- Kowalski made four saves while allowing just one goal.
"We played well in portions tonight but didn't find the consistency we wanted," said Head Coach
Paul Leese. "Gettysburg pushed us hard throughout the game, but I was especially proud of how we continued to fight and search for the equalizing goal. We never let our heads drip and we got our reward in the end."
The Firebirds return to action on Saturday, Sept. 7 as the team remains in Pennsylvania to take on Messiah at 7 p.m. EST. Carthage soccer returns to Art Keller Field on Sept. 14 as the Firebirds host St. Norbert in the home opener. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.
