GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Mo Bouta scored twice in 11 1/2 minutes in the second half as Tusculum University rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw with Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference men's soccer Wednesday night at Pioneer Field.
Bouta scored in the 65th minute on a penalty kick and in the 76th minute off a corner kick as the 23rd-ranked Pioneers (5-1-1, 1-1-1 SAC) dominated the second half over the Lions (2-2-3, 0-0-2 SAC). In the second half alone, Tusculum outshot Mars Hill 23-3 and had a 12-1 edge in corner kicks, and for the match the Pioneers finished with a 29-10 shot advantage and an 18-2 margin in corners.
Aimar Banuls and Jorge Perez Prada scored goals for the Lions, who received 11 saves from Logan Cassel in his first career start, all in the second half. Mars Hill played the final 12 1/2 minutes a man down but hung on to salvage the draw as Cassel made four saves in the last 10 1/2 minutes.
Bouta had a chance for a natural hat trick after earning a second penalty in the 78th minute, but Cassel dove to his right and knocked down the attempt to keep the match tied.
Mars Hill had the first scoring chance in the 11th minute, but a short-angle shot from Peter Plougmand was smothered by Tusculum keeper Nicolas Leite. The Pioneers had six shot attempts in the opening half on Cassel, but all of them were off target.
Leite came up with a save on an attempt from 25 yards by Braxton Robinson in the 38th minute, but it would be the Lions that broke through just 2:31 before halftime as a loose ball in the back end went from Robinson to Banuls, who collected his second goal of the season for a 1-0 Mars Hill lead.
Tusculum went to work early in the second half as Cassel was forced to make a save on a header by J-P Vital in the opening two minutes. Ndubueze Henry and Bouta would follow with shots on goal in the 49th and 51st minutes, but Cassel was able to keep the Pioneers off the board.
Mars Hill would go up 2-0 at 54:20 as a ball was chipped into the box and through two players to Prada, who put home his second goal of the season.
Tusculum would get on the board at 64:34 as a foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick for Bouta, who went to the right of Cassel for his second goal of the season and a 2-1 Mars Hill lead.
The Pioneers nearly tied it in the 71st minute, but a header from Ludvig Radberg went off the crossbar. Cassel would come up with another save on a blast by Bouta in the 74th minute.
With just over 14 minutes to play, the Pioneers earned a corner kick and got the equalizer as the service from Michele Di Miele went to Bouta at the top of the box, and he floated home his second of the match at 76:00 to tie the score at 2-2.
Just 1:40 after Bouta tied the match, he went to the penalty spot for the second time in a bid for a hat trick, but his shot in nearly the same spot as his goal was stopped by Cassel.
Tusculum kept up the relentless pressure, which included a header from Federico Belintendi in the 80th minute off a corner that Cassel jumped to deflect. Di Miele was thwarted moments later by Cassel off a beautiful setup from Radberg in the 81st minute, and Vital put a one-timer on target from close range that was covered on a dive by Cassel in the 84th minute.
Leite finished the match with five saves for the Pioneers, who had five shots on goal from Bouta and four from Vital. Mars Hill was called for 15 fouls to 14 for Tusculum, while the Lions were flagged three times for offsides and the Pioneers once.
Tusculum will visit Catawba on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Indians moved to 3-1-1 overall and 1-0-1 in conference play with a 1-0 road victory over Wingate on Wednesday, their third 1-0 win of the season.
- TU -
