Blumenberg tallied five saves in the draw
FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Wesleyan Men’s Soccer team (1-1-1) tied 1-1 in double-overtime against Texas A&M-Texarkana (0-1-1) on Saturday at Martin Field. The game is Texas Wesleyan’s first tie with TAMUT, bringing their all-time match record to 1-1-1.
The Rams started the game off strong with four shots on goal in the first 15 minutes of the game. In the 2nd minute, senior midfielder Juan Rey got a shot on goal that was saved by TAMUT’s goalkeeper Sergio Morales. That was followed by sophomore forward Hector Perez’s shot on goal in the 3rd minute that Morales also saved.
Junior midfielder Jovanni Angon got a shot on goal in the 9th minute of the game that ended in yet another save. In the 14th minute of the game, freshman midfielder Mateja Jovanovic took a his first shot on goal that went too wide.
It wasn’t until the last 15 minutes of the first half that the Rams got another four shots on goal. Freshman forward Augustas Aldonis put a shot on frame in the 33rd minute that was blocked by TAMUT’s Dawson Palomar, and took another in the 39th minute that went too wide.
Rey got a shot on goal in the 42nd minute that went too wide. Sophomore forward Glenn Gaituri got a shot on a goal in the 44th minute that was saved by TAMUT goalkeeper Meindart de Groot, and Perez got a final shot in the last 6 seconds that went too wide.
The game stayed fairly even with the ball staying in the midfield, each team breaking through with shots sporadically in the first 45 minutes. In the first half, the Rams outshot the Eagles 9-3, but in the second half, the Rams were outshot by the Eagles 3-11.
“I thought there were times where we strung some good passes together and played the way that we want to play,” said Cole Sweetser, the men’s head soccer coach. “We looked dangerous at times, but just a little inconsistent with that.”
The Rams started the second half with a shot on goal by junior defender James Kerr at the 48th minute, but it bounced off the goal post.
In the 81st minute, senior goalkeeper Bastian Blumenberg made his second of five saves in the game, which led to a penalty in the box. TAMUT’s Javier Berdejo scored off the penalty kick breaking the 0-0 stalemate in the 83rd minute.
In the 86th minute, TAMUT’s goalkeeper Jonathan Fritter committed a handball out of the box, giving the Ram’s a free kick from just outside 18 yards, but nothing came of it. In the 88th minute, Jovanovic scored his third goal of the season, the equalizer heading into overtime.
The Rams outshot TAMUT 3-2 in the first overtime period, and the Rams were outshot by TAMUT 0-3 in the second OT. Neither team could find paydirt. The Ram back line made a few good stops on dangerous Eagles charges to keep the team in the game.
“It was good to come back from 0-1 down and get a late goal to go into overtime,” Sweetser said. “Obviously, you’d like the result to be the full W, but it was good to come out and get the tie at least.”
The Rams will play Wayland Baptist University on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at Martin Field.
Link to the original post: https://ramsports.net/news/2020/10/11/mens-soccer-ties-texas-am-texarkana-in-ot.aspx
Hannah Onder 