OWENSBORO, Ky. – The University of Findlay has flourished against the Kentucky Wesleyan College men's soccer team since joining the Great Midwest Athletics conference. In the previous six meetings dating back to 2017, the Oilers are 6-0 and have outscored the Panthers 23-1 in those matches. Thursday night was a different story as the Panthers played Findlay to 2-2 tie at Steele Stadium, earning a point in the conference standings.
The Panthers (1-0-1 GMAC) remained unbeaten in Owensboro after 110 minutes of action on the artificial surface. Wesleyan took advantage of the Oilers methodical pace to start the match. In the 12
th minute the Oilers lost control in their own zone as
Jacob Boling quickly forced a touch pass forward to
Julian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez received the pass in stride to convert his second goal of the season and the first of the match. The Panthers continued to work down field throughout the opening half. After foul in front of the Oilers' goal,
Jake Peveler was awarded a free kick, to which he easily converted the Panthers second goal of the match.
Lucas Daunhauer made three saves in the opening half to preserve the shut-out. Findlay portrayed a new purpose in the second period as they forced more action into the Panthers' zone, forcing Wesleyan into more defensive positions.
The Wesleyan defense stood tall for a majority of the second half until the 80
th minute when Harrison Szep came away with a 50-50 ball in front of the Panthers net and passed to David Hug who connected on the goal. In the 86
th minute the Oilers tied the match by scoring off a corner kick.
The Panthers regrouped in the extra period slowing down the Oilers attacked. As the match carried into the second extra period Boling looked the end the match in the 107
th minute but his hard-hitting attempt was blocked then caught by UF keeper Andrew Boulton. The final three minutes played out without another score and each team earned a point in the league standings.
Daunhauer made 10 saves on the night.
The Panthers will travel to Canton, Ohio on Saturday to play Malone. The match is scheduled to start at 3PM CT.
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