Montgomery, AL-Following an 18 hour road trip to Montgomery, Alabama and a highly contested match on Saturday in the hot southern heat, the Yellowjackets played 110 minutes of soccer on Sunday in the weekend finale. Facing host school Auburn-Montgomery, the Jackets ended in a 3-3 tie after 2 overtimes in a wild afternoon game.
Graceland took the lead back in the 74th minute as senior Orin Branker (Point Fortin, Trinidad & Tobago) headed a shot in off of a free kick from teammate Dwight Belfon-Cave (Point Fortin, Trinidad & Tobago). The shot gave the Jackets a short-lived 2-1 lead. AMU was given another penalty kick in the 79th minute which was turned away on an outstanding individual play by senior goalie, Gage Tubbs (Raytown, MO). AMU however, would score right after on a corner kick to knot the game, 2-2. Auburn-Montgomery would strike for a third time in the half seven minutes after their tying goal in what at the time, appeared to be the game winner with just over three minutes to play. The gritty Jackets however, had other thoughts. A mere seven seconds after the go-ahead goal by Auburn-Montgomery, Kasy Kiarash scored his second goal on the afternoon tying the game 3-3. It would be the final tally of the match ending it in a 3-3 double overtime tie.
"The unity of this team is what makes us great," stated Coach Sanchez after the match. "It is always nice to be tested against top level competition and thought we competed exceptionally. We have a long way to go to get where we want to be but the heart, passion and ability to be coached by these players makes the sky the limit. We now turn the page and our mind is focused on our next opponent, Lindsey Wilson," finished Sanchez from the bus ride home.
Graceland now stands at 0-1-1 overall and will next play in St. Charles, Missouri Sunday afternoon at 1pm against the top ranked team in the country, Lindsey Wilson. Stay tuned to the Jacket athletics website for continuing coverage of the men's soccer team and all of Jacket athletics.