Charleston, Ill. - Eastern Illinois men's soccer kicked off its exhibition play with a tie against picked third in the Missouri Valley Conference, Bowling Green.
In a first half where both teams created good scoring opportunities, Lenny Kirschner dribbled past two defenders to find a shot that ended up with Falcon's goalkeeper save in the 25th minute. In the rebound,
Sam Eccles was in the right spot to conclude the play that gave the Panthers the 1-0 lead. Still in the first half,
Lesego Maloma and
Maxwell Allen each had a near goal with shots that smacked off the crossbar. With two minutes left until halftime, Taylor Dyson tied the game for the Falcons with a right foot finish, after a passing combination on the left side of Panther's defense.
In the second half, EIU showed good strength defensively to hold off Bowling Green's pressure, which led to a scoreless period.
During the overtime, freshman goalkeeper
Lucas Ortiz saved a penalty kick to keep EIU in the game. Ortiz ended the game with three saves.
Bowling Green outshot the Panthers 11-5 on shots on target.
The Panthers will play their second and final exhibition match on Monday, August 21 against Illinois Springfield at Lakeside Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
