HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's soccer team (1-5-4, 0-1-1 CC) tied the Gettysburg Bullets (3-2-4, 0-1-1 CC) 2-2 in a drama-packed contest on Saturday afternoon. The match originally scheduled for 1 p.m. at Walton Field, was pushed back to 4 p.m. and played on Swan Field because of rainy weather conditions.
Gettysburg struck first just 25 minutes in, after a penalty was awarded to the Bullets following a harsh call in the box. Chase Sempervive stepped up to the spot and fired one to the left of Jackson Simon. The first-year goalkeeper got a hand to it but couldn't keep it out of the net, as the visitors took a 1-0 lead.
Just eight minutes into the second half, the Fords found their equalizer. Following a Haverford corner kick that was cleared away by Gettysburg, Conrad Coyanda-Parkzes sent the ball back into the mix. The ball deflected off a Bullet defender and rolled over towards Thomas Vanni. The sophomore unleashed a one-time shot towards the net, getting past Gettysburg goalkeeper Leandro Ribeiro, to deadlock the game at 1-1.
The Scarlet and Black would then take the lead in the 69th minute, scoring in a rather bizarre way. Following a back pass played to Ribeiro, Andrew Fritz turned on the jets to pressure the Bullet keeper. Ribeiro, under the pressure, blasted the ball away, but the ball deflected off Fritz and rolled into the back of the net to give the Fords a 2-1 lead.
Haverford was standing tall, denying multiple menacing chances from Gettysburg until the Bullets found their leveler in the 80th minute. Gettysburg winger Noah Holgado took the ball down the right flank, eventually sending the ball into the near post. Sempervive read the cross and positioned himself by the near post to volley home a shot past Simon to tie the game at 2-2.
Despite two big chances from the Bullets, including one that saw Max Sams rifle a shot over the crossbar in the 84th minute, and a frightening shot from Sempervive that was parried away by Simon in the 85th minute, the frantic matchup ended in a 2-2 draw, as the Scarlet and Black picked up its first conference point of the season.
Gabe Knopf led the way in shots for the Fords with three, while Simon collected six saves in the tie.
Men's soccer will next be back on the pitch Wednesday, October 2, at Scotty Wood Stadium on the campus of Muhlenberg College, as the Fords will take on the Mules in the third Centennial Conference match of the season.
