SURPRISE, Ariz. – Just like their female counterparts a day earlier, the Wayland Baptist men's soccer team followed a season-opening shutout loss to Ottawa with a tie against Arizona Christian. The Pioneers and Firestorm battled to a 2-2 deadlock on Saturday afternoon.
Wayland (0-1-1) battled from behind with both of its goals. After Arizona Christian (1-0-2) got on the board first with a goal by Cody Shrum in the 24
th minute, the Pioneers knotted it with their first goal of the season, a rebound shot by
Santiago Sanchez in the 57
th minute.
Less than 10 minutes later, the Firestorm were back on top when Aiden Abbitt dribbled through the middle and connected for a 2-1 ACU lead.
Then, with just 3:41 left in the match, the Firestorm were whistled for a foul in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for
Ryan Naidoo. Naidoo made it count, and the teams walked away with a tie. (New NAIA rules prohibit overtime periods during regular-season play.)
The Pioneers held a 19-12 advantage in shots taken, with one more shot on-goal.
Leonardo Marini came off the bench to fire a team-high five shots, three of which were on target. Naidoo added four shots, and 11 Pioneers offered shots.
Adriano Coppolechia made five saves in goal for WBU.
The Pioneers, who dropped their season-opener to No. 10 Ottawa, 2-0, on Thursday in nearby Surprise, Ariz., make their home debut at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Texas-Permian Basin. WBU plays three straight and five of its next six at Hilliard Field. The Falcons tied Fort Lewis (Colo.) in their season-opener, 1-1, before hosting Adams State (Colo.) on Saturday.
