WILKES-BARRE, PA. – The Ursinus College men's soccer team overcame an early 1-0 deficit, battling to a 1-1 draw against King's College on Wednesday evening from McCarthy Stadium.
With the draw, the Bears move to 1-3-2 on the season, meanwhile the Monarchs of the MAC Freedom sit at 3-4-1 overall.
In the early minutes of the match a foul was called on junior midfielder
Nick Balbierer setting up a free kick for the Monarchs in front of the Bears bench. Bryce Nunes of King's College sent a high-arching cross into the box finding Nate Horn along the far post. Horn slipped but sent a bouncing shot past the Bears defense for an early 1-0 lead.
In the 15
th minute, on a counterattack first-year
Landon Shivak made a move creating space in the box, but his low shot was saved by a diving Jake Forst for King's. After a corner kick, the Bears continued the offensive pressure as
Joshua Coster's shot was blocked by the Monarchs back line in the 17
th minute.
The offensive pressure finally paid off the Bears in the 30
th minute as junior
Tommy Mollis connected on a header in front of the net to tie the game at one a piece. A long through ball played down the near side found
Patrick Tormey. The sophomore midfielder made a move before sending a pass back to classmate
Jack Schmidt. Schmidt played a beautiful cross finding a diving Mollis for his first goal of the season. King's had the final chance of the first half but a shot in the 41
st minute from Philip Permyashkin missed wide of the net.
In the 55
th minute, the Bears were awarded a corner kick after a cross was deflected out of play from the Monarchs defense. After a quick touch into play, a cross was fired into the box finding Tormey, but his shot missed high of the net to keep the score tied. The Bears had the final chance to break the tie in the closing minutes as
Joshua Coster's shot was deflected and saved by King's Jake Forst.
The Monarchs held a slight 11-9 edge in shots while the Bears held a 6-2 advantage in shots on net. Junior goalkeeper
Kirk Ransome earned the draw in net for the Bears collecting one save, while King's College goalkeeper Jake Forst was credited with five saves over 90 minutes of action.
The Bears will return to action on Saturday, September 24 as they travel to Dickinson College for a Centennial Conference matchup starting at 6pm.
