ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's soccer team netted equalizers twice in the contest, securing a 2-2 draw against visiting Alma College for the first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) points of the season.
The Scots applied early pressure and cashed in with the first goal of the contest. The goal came in the seventh minute after a foul by the Thunder defense gave the opposition a free kick in the offensive zone.
Neither team scored or even threatened to until the latter part of the first period. In the 41st minute Trine had a corner chance that they placed inside the keepers box where Gavin Hardy placed a header toward the top left portion of the net. Only a jumping save by the Scots' keeper kept the home side down a goal.
The next chance came just seconds later, on the ensuing corner attempt. This time Salvatore Orlandi took the corner and curved it toward the goal, forcing another jumping save by the opposition's keeper.
The teams traded shots on goal in the opening portion of the second half. Eventually the pressure paid off for Trine. In the 63rd minute, Mohamed Aljably crossed the ball to just inside the penalty area where Colin Clark was able to settle it off of his chest. Clark continued to box out a defender allowing Dalton Douglas to fire a shot into the top left portion of the net.
The Thunder continued to play for a victory, but a miscalculated push forward allowed Alma to get behind the defense. They pinballed the ball from the far corner of the field into the penalty area to score the goal and make the score 2-1 in their favor.
In the 86th minute Trine found a way to equalize again. Another cross attempt by the Thunder went off of an Alma defender and bounced around, eventually landing at the feet of Brayden Macy in the far corner of the penalty area. Macy fired a single touch shot into the corner of the net.
The rest of the game played out at a fevered pitch with four yellow cards and plenty of fouls, as well as shots by both teams. All was for naught with the contest ending with the 2-2 score intact.
The Thunder end the day with a 0-2-1 record in MIAA play and a 1-10-2 overall tally. They will continue their season when they travel to face The University of Olivet on Saturday, October 18. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
