Angelina College head soccer coach Freddy Dragon on Wednesday employed a “defense first” strategy, and the Roadrunners worked it to near perfection in battling Northeast Texas Community College to a 1-1 draw in Hudson.
The match was a rescheduled affair from Oct. 6 after the original game was suspended because of lightning.
AC’s Brad Lowes scored an equalizer with barely three minutes remaining in regulation, and the defense – fueled by sticky-gloved keeper Julian Ramirez – kept the Eagles, the second-place team in the Region XIV standings, away from and out of the nets for most of the game, including the two extra periods. NTCC entered Wednesday’s contest riding a five-game winning streak and averaging more than three goals per match.
The teams fought to a scoreless draw at the half thanks in large part to Ramirez, who turned in several spectacular saves, and the back line, especially Usman Sotomi, whose pair of flying kick saves prevented Eagle scores early.
NTCC’s lone score came stroke of Eagle luck: At 31:06 of the second half, Eagle Amadou Gadio blasted a kick from outside the box that appeared to ricochet off a player’s back and into the net.
With time winding down in regulation, the Roadrunners managed to even the score. Jesus Cerda crossed to Elvis Rahmanovic at the top of the box, and Rahmanovic’s one-touch pass to Lowes set up the tying goal.
The ‘Runners moved to 6-10-1 on the season, while the Eagles’ record stands at 12-2-2. AC’s men will close out the regular season on Saturday as part of a women/men doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. at Jase Magers Field in Lufkin. Both AC teams will celebrate Sophomore Day prior to each respective match.
The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
