Liberty Ties Marshall, 2-2
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Liberty freshmen Bay Kurtz and Troy Reeves each scored their first goal of their college careers, helping the Flames tied the Thundering Herd of Marshall, 2-2, Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex.
Kurtz scored in the first half and Reeves netted a goal in the second half for the Flames. The two freshmen became the fifth and sixth Liberty player to score their first career goal in a Flames’ uniform this season.
Liberty remains unbeaten on the year with a 2-0-1 mark. Marshall moves to 0-1-2 on the season. The last two meetings between the two teams have ended in draws. In their last meeting, Liberty and Marshall played to a 1-1 tie at the Sculley Memorial Tournament in Lexington, Va., on Sept. 7, 2012.
In a tightly contested match, the visiting Flames struck for the first goal of the game during the 28th minute. Kurtz took a pass from midfielder Blessing Tahuona on the right side of the 18-yard box and beat Thundering Herd goalkeeper Dominik Reining with a hard short into the near side for a 1-0 advantage at 27:38.
Marshall countered during the 33rd minute. After a foul in the box, defender Ryan Forde converted the ensuing penalty kick for his first goal of the season and a 1-1 tie.
During the final 10 minutes of the opening half, Liberty had the lone scoring opportunity. During the 35th minute, a corner kick by midfielder Tim Harbison was headed by Tahuona in an attempt to break the tie, but it was saved by Reining to send the contest to intermission tied.
Reeves put Liberty ahead early in the second half. During the 55th minute, the defender collected a loose ball at the goal line and scored into the open net to give the Flames a 2-1 edge.
Pushing forward looking for the equalizer during the final 10 minutes, Marshall knotted the game at 84:28. Defender Matt Freeman slipped a pass into the six-yard box for Scott Doney, who connected on a shot into to the far corner of the net to knot the game at 2-2.
A shot by Liberty’s Kurtz sailed high during the 86th minute, sending the game to overtime.
Liberty goalkeeper Scott Sutarik made the lone save by either netminder during the overtime periods. The senior turned a shot away by Forde during the 101th minute, as the game finished, 2-2.
Marshall held 20-9 advantage in shots during the contest. Sutarik recorded two saves in the contest, while Reining made four saves.
Liberty will finish a four-game road swing with two neutral site matches at VMI in Lexington, Va., Sept. 12-14. The Flames will play Robert Morris to open the tournament, Sept. 12. Game time at Patchin Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. Two days later, Liberty will square off with USC Upstate. Match time is slated for 12:30 p.m.
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