Tim Castaneda, Sports Writer, @xTIMBOxSLICEx
In a crucial conference matchup, UVU men’s soccer escaped its double overtime match versus University of Incarnate Word with a 1-1 draw Friday night at Clyde Field. The Wolverines continued to fight hard as they work toward earning one of six spots available in the WAC tournament.
Incarnate Word had the Wolverines on their heels as it took a 1-0 lead late in the second half. Ben Conway put the Cardinals ahead in the 82nd minute after a juke to get past two UVU defenders from the left side of the box paved the way for his goal.
UVU did not back down from the late deficit as it battled its way to get the tying goal in the closing minutes of regulation. After being substituted into the game late, UVU’s Chandler Boyd took the ball inside the right corner of the box and connected on a pass inside to Paul Hoffmeister who put in the equalizer in the 86th minute.
“For us to come back showed really what our makeup is of this team and it helps us moving forward each and every game,” said UVU head coach Greg Maas. “Goals are going to happen in the game and how your team responds is ultimately most important. For us to get that goal back was massive.”
UVU saw a couple of near-goal opportunities in the two overtime periods but could not capitalize as the game came to a close. With 45 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, Hoffmeister dribbled the ball near the top of the box from 25 feet and got off a shot that barely grazed the top crossbar. With 3 minutes to go in the match, mid-fielder Lucas Cawley’s shot from the left side of the box nearly put the Wolverines ahead as it curved toward the goal but went just past the right post.
The Wolverines had two final chances in the closing seconds before the final whistle blew after 110 minutes of play. After a foul call on Incarnate Word, UVU’s Karson Payton fired a shot from 30 feet with 45 seconds remaining on a free kick that led to a corner kick. As time wound down, Payton hoped to get the ball to a teammate inside the box off the corner kick but Incarnate Word defenders got position to defend UVU’s last second attempt as the game ended in a draw.
With the draw, UVU men’s soccer holds an overall record of 6-6-2. The Wolverines’ WAC record moves to 2-3-2.
The Wolverines play their final home match of the season against conference foe Houston Baptist University at 1 p.m. MT Sunday, November 2.
