Men's Soccer draws at Austin College on Friday; Qualify for SCAC Tournament
SHERMAN, Texas – The University of Dallas men's soccer team (7-7-2, 4-6-2 SCAC) battled Austin College (9-6-2, 6-5-1 SCAC) to a scoreless draw on Friday afternoon. Dallas later learned that evening that with losses by Schreiner University and Centenary College, it had clinched at least one of the final postseason berths along with Texas Lutheran University. Currently the Crusaders are in sixth place with 14 points, but are guaranteed to be playing back at the same site from today in two weeks.
The home team had the first two looks within three minutes as both shots went wide left. Dallas' Barton Holdridge (Fort Worth, Texas) kicked the first shot and had it on frame. UD posted the majority of its chances in the opening stanza with 13 shots. The 'Roos also had a team-high six shots through the first 45 minutes.
Neither team had many looks in the second half, with both getting a pair of shots off during that span. The Crusaders advanced to their fourth overtime of the campaign and on the third straight Friday in a row. It was the second time UD would finish in a draw, and was the first tied shutout since October 30, 2015, versus Colorado College. The last time such an instance occurred on the road was September 2, 2007 against the same opponent.
The Crusaders generated more opportunities in extra regulation, with Andrew Ciancone (Houston, Texas) and Sean Taylor (Austin, Texas) placing both their single attempts on frame. In the final extra frame, the road squad mustered three early shots, before AC's only overtime shot came by Thomas Quick and was covered by Tino Gamueda (Lubbock, Texas). Luke Schwarz (Tucson, Ariz.) lifted back-to-back corner kicks in the final minute, but a header by Tommy Byrd (Mansfield, Texas) was off mark to the left in the last 15 ticks.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Dallas attempted 21 shots compared to the 'Ross nine.
- UD garnered an edge in corner kicks 9-3. Both teams combined for seven in the first, with Dallas winning 4-3 on such looks. The rest of the match, the Crusaders had at least one corner per frame.
- Ciancone paced the Crusaders with a game-high four shots. Chima Ogueri (Garland, Texas) provided three attempts – all in the final overtime. Taylor posted a perfect shot on goal percentage with two looks.
- Dallas placed seven shots on target.
- Gamueda (7-7-2) worked his second clean sheet of the fall and made three saves.
- Quick led Austin College with three shots and had two on goal. Phillip Le and Jack Wheaton also made multi-shot efforts with a pair.
- Joseph Khalaf (9-6-2) notched seven saves in 110 minutes. His stops were spread out, with the majority coming in the first half (3).
QUOTABLE
"Tense Match…Contested play throughout the field. There were a few occasions where we thought we had the match winner, but the AC keeper (Khalaf) was the clear man of the match" –Head Coach David Hoffmann on Friday's result
UP NEXT
Dallas heads to Centenary College of Louisiana on Sunday to conclude a four-game road trip. Kickoff is at 12 p.m.