Despite starting the match outshooting the Ravens 10-0, the John Brown University men's soccer team found itself behind, but header goals from sophomore Alejandro Ramirez and senior Ethan Stockdale allowed the Golden Eagles to claw back for a 2-2 draw with Benedictine (Kan.) on Friday, Aug. 26, at Alumni Field.
The Ravens (0-1-1) stunned the sold out Alumni Field crowd by taking a 1-0 advantage in the 33rd minute after John Brown (0-0-1) enjoyed a tilted pitch for the nearly the entire first half. Still the hosts out-shot Benedictine 12-3 through 45 minutes of play.
Then, the visitors doubled their lead in the 50th minute, building a difficult challenge for the hosts to overcome. The Ravens nearly made it 3-0, but senior Matej Urbanija cleared a ball off the goal line in the 59th minute to still give JBU a fighting chance to earn a result.
Finally, the mounting fouls and pressure paid off in the 68th minute. Senior Ivan Garcia took advantage of a free kick opportunity just outside the box on the left side, and lofted in a perfect service that was finished by Ramirez at the back post to pull John Brown within one goal, 2-1.
Marred by 32 fouls and 11 cautions, it appeared time might run out on the hosts, but after being on the difficult end of an absolute robbery just a yard from goal, Stockdale made up for his near match-tying goal by heading in the leveling chance with just 2:01 left in the contest.
In a near identical position of Garcia's service into the box from the left side, this time senior Oscar Carballo sent the free kick offering and, after spinning around his defender, Stockdale jumped and redirected the service to the far left post to tie the match at two apiece.
Neither team could find another scoring chance in the final 121 seconds of play as the teams settled on a 90-minute draw. The Golden Eagles finished the match with a 22-9 shooting advantage.
Sophomore Kyle Hix (0-0-1) made two saves on four chances, while his counterpart Noah Reuscher played an outstanding match, keeping the contest scoreless through a relentless Golden Eagle onslaught in the first half and finished with seven saves on nine opportunities.
John Brown will now hit the road to southwest Kansas to face Southwestern (Kan.) in Winfield at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, before returning home the following Tuesday (Sept. 6) to welcome Lyon (Ark.) in a midweek tilt.