In a back-and-forth battle, The Master's University (0-1-1) and the Eastern Oregon men's soccer teams came to a 2-2 tie Monday in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Trent Rickard had another 2-goal game for TMU including one to tie the game a 1-1 in the 56th minute and a converted penalty kick which swung the lead in the Mustangs' favor in the 62nd minute.
The game was not without its fair share of drama, as there were four yellow cards recorded, with all of them coming in the second half.
The Mountaineers took the lead early into the contest with a goal in the 6th minute by Marcos Bravo. Through the first couple of minutes, EOU was on the attack, shooting six first half shots compared to just three for TMU. However, around the halfway mark of the first half, TMU began to press. The Mustangs had opportunities but went into the midway break scoreless.
"We were playing not great but were only down 0-1, which is a huge positive," TMU Head Coach Jim Rickard said.
Coming out of the half, TMU quickly knotted the game at one with
Trent Rickard's first goal off an assist from
Zach Rodriguez, who also recorded two shots. TMU was outshot 16-6 by EOU across the whole match, but goalie
Julian Graham notched six saves to keep the Mountaineers at bay.
Six minutes later, Rickard got his second score on a penalty kick to take the lead but EOU quickly tied it back up on a shot by Henry Lopez in the 70th minute. What ensued was a drama-filled 88th minute, which had a two yellow cards but no scoring opportunities came of it.
"I think they are one of the top teams in the northwest, maybe the top team. I'm proud of how we battled in the second half, " Coach Rickard said. "It felt like a typical conference game where it gets super crazy at the end."
TMU finished the game with just two shots on goal but made them count, as they converted both opportunities.
The Mustangs will play host to Cal Lutheran on Thursday in Santa Clarita, Calif.
