The Eastern New Mexico men’s soccer team rallied back from two down to force a 2-2 draw against nationally 23rd-ranked West Texas A&M Saturday afternoon at The Pitch in Canyon, Texas.

The Buffs (8-2-2, 5-2-1 Heartland) got on the board first in the 19th minute as Lucca Lima’s shot from the near side sailed just out of the reach of Hounds sophomore goalkeeper Ross Dalton to the far post, putting Eastern (5-5-2, 3-3-2 HC) down 1-nil early in the contest.

At the 20:19 mark, the Buffs had a golden opportunity to add to that lead, but Dalton made a beautiful diving save on a shot inside the box to keep the Hounds down only one.

However, the Hounds couldn’t find an answer for Lima in the opening period. In the 39th minute, Lima netted his second goal of the match off a long pass by Ivan Ulloa to make it a 2-0 advantage for West Texas A&M going into the halftime locker room.

The Buffs dominated the first half, outshooting the Hounds 15-1, but Eastern made some great adjustments during the break and turned the tables on WTAMU in the second half.

The Hounds had a fantastic chance to cut into the deficit at the 51:15 mark in the second half as sophomore midfielder Lucas Vaz’s shot on the far side of the box was nearly scored as the ball slipped through WTAMU goalkeeper Colin Burgiel’s hands, but was able to corral it before the ball fell into the goal.

However, Eastern would finally cash in in the 61st minute as freshman forward Gregory Franusic’s header bounced off the keeper’s hands, then off the post, and into the net to cut the Hounds deficit to 2-1.

The Hounds had another great chance at an equalizer at the 63:50 mark, but the Burgiel made a beautiful diving save on sophomore defender Joao Gabriel Andrade’s shot to hold onto the lead.

With time winding down, Eastern finally found the equalizer in the 82nd minute. Leading the way on a breakaway down the far side, freshman forward Julian Trapp’s pass found Craig Brand in the left side of the the box and his touch pass back found a wide open Gabriel Peres as his 15-yard shot from the far side to the near post made it 2-all to force overtime.

In the overtime period, the Hounds got an advantage in the 92nd minute when WTAMU’s Cameron Walker was issued a yellow card and then a red card, putting the Buffs down a man for the remainder of the match.

The Buffs had the best opportunity to score the game-winner in the first overtime period as Simon Sebbah’s header off a Julio Hernandez corner sailed just left of the goal, forcing a second overtime.

In the second overtime period, Franusic had the chance to net his second goal of the match at the 103:32 mark, but Burgiel corralled the save to keep the match going.

The Hounds found themselves in some trouble in the 105th minute as WTAMU’s Julio Vargas managed to break away with the ball from the Eastern defense off of a Hounds corner kick. Senior midfielder Jose Tabares-Ochoa grabbed Vargas as he got by him outside the Eastern goal box to stop a wide open breakaway shot, forcing the officials to show a red card. With Tabares-Ochoa out, both teams had to play with 10 men for the remaining five minutes of the match.

Neither team could muster another shot on-goal for the reminder of the match as the Hounds picked up their second draw of the season.

West Texas A&M outshot Eastern 23-16 in the match, but the Hounds were more accurate with their shot as they placed seven on-goal to only five for the Buffs. Eastern also outshot WTAMU 11-3 in the second period.
Peres and Franusic led the offensive attack for the Hounds in this match. Peres netted his fifth goal of the season on four shots, two of which were on-goal while Franusic’s goal was his second on the season as he fired four shots, placing three on-goal.

Brand and Trapp were each credited with an assist apiece, Brand’s second of the season while Trapp earned his first.

The Hounds will face yet another ranked opponent next week as they will travel to Wichita Falls, Texas to take on No. 4 Midwestern State on Oct. 11 at 6 p.m.