FULLERTON, Cal. – Over 2,500 miles from home for the second-straight match, Stetson men's soccer notched a draw against Cal State Fullerton, 2-2, Sunday night at Titan Soccer Stadium.
The Hatter offense was probing early and in the third minute, an errant pass looked to be landing in
Gabriel Toro's path. The midfielder playing up field jumped and was looking for a one-v-one opportunity titan goalkeeper Tetsuya Kadono. Kadono misread the loose pass and after missing the ball tackled Toro in the box. Forward
Luis Lara Delgado calmly slotted the penalty in the bottom left corner giving SU the 1-nil advantage.
The advantage was doubled in the 14th minute. Sophomore
Charles Ahl drew a foul about 45 yards from goal. Ahl lined up and smacked the free kick toward the clump of Hatters and Titans. After the ball skipped lightly off a defenders head, the ball fell to the feet of
Sheldon Sackey. Sackey calmly sent a roller past a charging Kadono that nestled into nearly same spot Delgado sent his penalty 10 minutes and 39 seconds earlier.
CSF answered five minutes 15 seconds later. An offensive build resulted in Sebastian Cruz stepping up and ripping a shot at net. The shot from just inside the goal box was so fast it no one had a chance to move to stop it, 2-1 to the visitors.
Stetson looked to take control back after a shot from junior midfielder
Alessandro Gabbani struck the arm of a defender just outside the Titan goal box. The following free kick, a shot from Gabbani, was pushed wide with Ahl sending a shot off the corner kick over the bar.
Despite the teams still developing chances, neither side carved out a solid opportunity for the remainder of the half as the defenses adjusted to both offensive onslaughts.
The defensive stands continued after the half as it took seven minutes 32 seconds for a team to record a shot on goal.
At the 62:51 mark, the game turned as Sackey was sent off with a red card. The player disadvantage cost the Hatters in the 77th minute. CSF build up play resulted in another goal from Sebastian Cruz with two assists.
The Hatters saw out the draw despite being a player down for 27 minutes as the match ended 2-2.
Stetson men's soccer returns to Florida to face North Florida Saturday night. The kickoff time is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.
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