JOLIET, Ill. — IU Northwest men's soccer trailed by two goals with less than 20 minutes to play, but the RedHawks stormed back with three goals in the final 16 minutes to salvage a wild 3-3 tie at St. Francis (Ill.) on Saturday.
St. Francis struck almost immediately, with Benisio Gamino finishing a Ted Barker cross just 58 seconds into the match to put the home side up 1-0. The Saints doubled their lead in the 36th minute when Juan Jimenez capitalized on a Max Gaudry pass to make it 2-0, and the RedHawks headed to the locker room facing a two-goal deficit despite holding their own in the shot column.
IU Northwest began to find its footing in the second half and finally broke through in the 72nd minute, when Ezekiel Mugisha buried a Damian Lopez assist off a deflection to cut the deficit to 2-1. The RedHawks completed the equalizer just over six minutes later, as Damian Lopez returned the favor, finishing off a short pass from Mugisha to level the score at 2-2 in the 79th minute.
St. Francis answered right back, with Rogelio Valles scoring off a deflected free kick in the 85th minute to put the Saints back in front, 3-2. But IU Northwest wasn't finished. Marcos Talavera pounced on a rebound off his own initial shot attempt in the 88th minute, burying the equalizer to make it 3-3 and secure the dramatic late tie.
Carter Levesque and St. Francis goalkeeper Logan LaFrance each finished with three saves as both offenses combined for 29 shots on the afternoon. The RedHawks held a 15-14 edge in total shots and out-cornered the Saints 5-4 in the second half alone, a reflection of the pressure IU Northwest applied in search of the equalizer — and eventually found it, twice.
IU Northwest returns home to host Viterbo on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at East Chicago Central High School. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
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