PIKEVILLE, Ky.— The Montreat College men's soccer team secured a 2-2 draw against the University of Pikeville Bears on Wednesday, doing so in dramatic fashion with a pair of second-half goals. Following the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) tie at Bob Amos Park, the Cavaliers moved to 4-10-3 (3-6-2 AAC) on the year, while UPIKE moved to 8-5-3 (6-2-3 AAC).
Montreat faced early pressure from Pikeville as the match began. The home side took a swift 1-0 lead via a strike just 6:09 into the match. The Cavs' defense, led by goalkeeper
Frankie Zavala, managed to withstand additional attempts, including three saves and another blocked effort.
Felipe Pereira had an opportunity to level the score for the visitors with a shot that went high, while
Emmanuel Ntimeh also saw a late header go over the crossbar. Despite those tries, the Cavaliers entered the break trailing 1-0.
The start of the second half saw UPIKE double its advantage with a 59
th-minute tally. However, the Bears couldn't expand their edge any further, which opened the door for Montreat. In the 68
th minute,
Sako Mo energized the team's efforts with his first collegiate goal. Mo's rocket narrowed the gap to 2-1.
Pereira also notched his first goal of the season, equaling the match and bringing the visitors level with only 8:31 left. From there, neither team could break the deadlock across the home stretch. As a result, the match concluded with a 2-2 final score.
"The guys fought really hard tonight and put in a good performance against a tough team," said head coach
Michael Bruce. "It was great to see the resilience from the guys pay off. We are looking forward to wrapping up the regular season in a positive way on Saturday."
Statistically, UPIKE held the upper hand on the Cavs, racking up more shots (21-7), shots on goal (8-3) and corner kicks (2-0).
Pereira scored once with his lone shot on goal. Mo matched Pereira with an unassisted tally of his own and finished with two attempts on goal. Zavala made six saves while facing eight shots, maintaining a strong presence in net.
Looking ahead, Montreat hosts Johnson University for senior day on Saturday, Oct. 25. The match is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. at Pulliam Stadium in Black Mountain, N.C.
