Buckhannon, W.Va. – The Men’s Soccer team settled for a 1-1 draw against Urbana Blue Knights on Saturday evening.

The game started with a fast and exciting pace, with both teams looking dangerous but lacking the right decision in the final third of the pitch.

It was Wesleyan who created the first real opportunity in the 20^th minute, when Jordan Halpern displayed some close control putting Matthew Brown in down the right hand side. Brown, with the opportunity to shoot, unselfishly cuts the ball back but just out of the reach of the trailing Wesleyan midfielders.

With 28 minutes gone, an Urbana free kick on the halfway line was not dealt with by the Bobcat’s defense allowing the Blue Knights Lewis Dunne to shoot, but he failed to hit the target.

In the 35^th minute, Urbana broke the scoring deadlock with a cross from the right hand side that found an unmarked Ben Fitzpatrick on the back post who headed across goal leaving Wesleyan’s goalkeeper Luka Pauk no chance.

Wesleyan wait just 3 minutes to respond, when a corner kick from Brown found the run of Thomas Capstick to head home, tying things up before the half.

Urbana started the second half strong, with Fitzpatrick making a dangerous run into the box, but Pauk denied his shot with a comfortable save.

Wesleyan continued to soak up the Blue Knight’s pressure and could have fallen behind again after Urbana’s Aaron Burt headed over from a corner kick.

The Bobcat’s claimed for a penalty in the 53^rd minute, when a cross from Halpern was headed back across goal by Joe Ferraracci, intended for Brown who looked to be pushed, but the referee was not convinced.

Wesleyan’s Ante Susic forced the Blue Knight’s keeper Nathan Jones to make a diving save to his left in the 61^st minute.

The pace of the game began to slow as both team got tired, this was evident in the lack of clear cut chances created in the last 25 minutes, resulting in the game going into overtime.

Wesleyan rode their luck in the 91^st minute when a shot from Urbana’s Yves Nzwanga 20 yards out clips the top of the crossbar.

Susic had the chance to score his second overtime career goal in the 96^th minute, with a shot from the edge of the box but Jones made the save.

Midway through the 2^nd period of overtime Mike Geiselhart found himself with the ball 25 yards out and ripped a left footed shot, where Jones fumbled the ball behind him having to dive back onto his goal line to recover.

Neither team could find a second goal with the game ending 1-1. Wesleyan recorded 15 shots to Urbana’s 18, and tallied 5 corners to their 9. However, the Bobcat’s forced Jones to make 9 saves whereas Pauk was only called into action 6 times.

The Bobcat’s are now 2-1-1 in the Mountain East Conference and 3-3-2 overall. The Men host Wheeling Jesuit Wednesday Oct 2 at 7:00pm.

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