Box Score Towson, Md.—The Hood College men's soccer team (0-0-1) made a furious comeback late in the second half to stun Goucher (0-0-1) with a 3-3 draw in the opening game for both teams. Hood was trailing 3-1 with two minutes left, however the resilient Blazers found a way to score two goals in 82 seconds to salvage the draw.
Junior Eric Diehl had a phenomenal game, as he capped an impressive first game as captain with two goals and an assist for five points. Diehl had a part in all three Blazer goals and was constantly making scintillating runs up the field to get in dangerous positions. When asked how he had so much success tonight Diehl said, "They kept taking away my left side, but I was able to effectively penetrate their right side and continue to try and have a positive impact on the match."
The Blazers started the season as good as possible when freshman Gary Higginbothem scored his first collegiate goal in the fourth minute. Diehl had made a great run forward and hit a powerful shot with pace off the inside of the post that rebounded out to Higginbothem, who put the shot away.
The Gophers from Goucher would not go away though and scored the tying goal from an own goal. Hood goalkeeper Ian McDonald went for the ball and appeared to have been hit in mid air and was unable to catch the ball as it floated behind him and off a Blazer defender for the goal. Goucher came back with another goal in the 23rd minute as they displayed a beautiful counter attack that saw George El-Khoury finish a low driven shot to the back post to give the Gophers a 2-1 advantage going into the half.
The Blazers switched formations in the second half going from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 and the move proved beneficial. Hood was ferocious in its attack in the second half as they had 15 shots in the second stanza alone. Goucher scored what appeared to be a back breaking goal in the 76th minute, as Marco Grotti finished off a one on one situation with Hood goalkeeper Ryan Deuber that the Gophers and its fans believed was the decisive goal. However, the Blazers would not give up and showed some real grit in the final ten minutes.
In the 88th minute freshman Charlie Burlew gave Hood life when he drew a foul in the penalty area to give the Blazers a penalty kick. Diehl walked up calmly to the penalty spot and converted a solid penalty to the left side netting that gave the Blazers hope. Less than 90 seconds later Diehl made another quality run into space and got the ball onto his patented left foot where he ripped a shot that took a Blazer friendly deflection and ended up in the back of the net as jubilation erupted on the Blazer bench and despair was in the faces of Goucher and their fans. "I saw space up the middle, probably due to fatigue, and had a window to shoot and I took it" said Diehl. The 90 minutes ended at three a piece and this game was destined for extra time.
In extra time the Blazers were outshot 6-1 as Deuber made some fine saves in net to preserve the draw. Freshman Joey Fontanez had a rip in overtime that was turned away nicely by goalkeeper Matt Sinatro. In the end the two teams did not have enough left to finish in the extra time and the game ended in a 3-3 draw. This result though showed us how a draw can feel so good for one side, which happened to be Hood tonight, and how bad it can be for the other, which on this night was Goucher.
Hood goalkeeper Deuber finished with five saves and Goucher goalkeeper Sinatro ended with eight saves. The Blazers also outshot Goucher 25-22, but Goucher held a 10-4 advantage in corner kicks.
The Blazers return to action this Thursday for their first home contest of the season when they take on Mt. Aloysius at 4:30 p.m. at Thomas Athletic Field.
