Cards, Corner Kicks Stifle Golden Eagle Effort
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (November 2, 2013) -- Sporting a 2-1 advantage late in the second half, a timely strike off a corner kick allowed the visiting Knight of Northwood (Texas) to tie the match in the 73rd minute, stifling the John Brown (8-8-1, 4-4-1 SAC) effort to pick up a victory on senior day this afternoon at Alumni Field.
Sophomore Eli Simonsen notched a free-kick goal and picked up his team-leading 12th assist of the season. Junior Ryan Duncan notched his team-leading 11th tally of 2013 in the 67th minute of play.
The Golden Eagles struck first when a streaking Duncan darted down the center of the attacking zone before a Knight tripped up the JBU leading goal-scorer. Just outside the box in the center, Simonsen placed John Brown up 1-0 when his free kick to the lower, left corner beat NU netminder Brandon Alvosez in the 30th minute.
Carrying the play through the majority of the half, JBU out-shot the visitors 5-2 in the first half saving senior goalkeeper Pablo Garcia from making a single block in the first stanza.
However, things changed in a wild second half when the Golden Eagles were booked for two red cards, placing the hosts down two men for the remainder of the match just seven minutes into the second frame. The Knights made JBU pay quickly when, off the restart from the second yellow, a short free kick from the left side of the box found a cutting Northwood forward who tipped a shot past Garcia to the near post, knotting the score at one apiece.
While still down a pair of players, the Golden Eagles were able to force a corner kick that was a result of well-placed runs and through balls. Simonsen took the corner and laid a perfectly-played ball to the head of senior Luke Theimer. Theimer flicked the ball behind him to Duncan, who was waiting on the goalline, for a tap-in, as JBU retook the lead in improbable fashion.
Northwood would fall victim to the red card just moments later, creating a 10-on-9 situation for the remainder of the match.
Just six minutes after Duncan's go-ahead tally, the Knights used a corner kick of its own to tie the score. After a failed JBU attempt to clear the ball out of the box, the ball squirted free to an attacking NU player, who chipped it over the defense to the awaiting head of another Knight, forcing a 2-2 score.
Both squads battled it out for 110 full minutes, but Garcia's four saves in overtime sealed the tie. John Brown was only able to land one shot towards Alvosez in the extra session.
The Knights out-shot JBU 23-9 and held a 5-1 lead in corner kicks. Garcia (8-8-1) recorded eight saves in the match while his counterpart, Alvosez (5-1-2), collected three saves.
The Golden Eagles will conclude play on Tuesday (Nov. 5) when it faces St. Gregory's (Okla.) in Shawnee, Okla. at 3:00 p.m. The game, which was scheduled for earlier in the season, had been rescheduled due to inclement weather.
