Bison play to draw with Thomas More on Senior Day, 1-1

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

BETHANY, W.Va. (Oct. 21) - The Bethany College men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with league-leading Thomas More College at Hoag Field in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) match on Senior Day.

THE MATCHUP

• Final: Bethany 1, Thomas More 1 (Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 8-7-2, 2-2-2 PAC | Thomas More 10-4-2, 5-0-1 PAC
• Location: Hoag Field | Bethany, West Virginia

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bethany had the match's first scoring chance in the sixth-minute when freshman Dylan Kidd (Baltimore, Md./John Carroll) sent a shot with pace towards the top-left corner of the net, but Thomas More's Jeff Paulin made the stop.
• The Saints capitalized in the 17th-minute off of a corner-kick. Thomas More's Suli Kayed sent a ball into the box that was headed by Jack Berner and sent home by Sam Lewis to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
• Thomas More had a trio of prime scoring opportunities late in the first half, but freshman goalkeeper Torben Grether (Rheinfelden, Germany/Georg-Buchner) made stops on each to keep the Bethany deficit at one entering halftime.
• Both teams had chances in the early stages of the second half, but none finished. Bethany's Raul Arteaga (Pachuca, Mexico/Leonardo Bravo) sent a ball just above the crossbar in the 58th-minute, while a shot by senior Adam Franco (Inglewood, Calif./Carter) went wide right.
• Thomas More had a chance to put the game away in the 79th-minute. A yellow card in the box gave the Saints a penalty kick, but Grether guessed correctly and batted the shot over the crossbar to keep the Bison within one goal.
• Bethany took advantage of Grether's work in net, and Arteaga got a chance at redemption in the 90th-minute. Freshman Bernardo Vilchis (Mexico City, Mexico/Universidad del Valle) sent a lead pass to his countryman Arteaga, who got behind the Thomas More defense and scored the game-tying goal with 58 seconds remaining in regulation to send the match into overtime.
• The first overtime session saw zero shots reach either goalkeeper, sending the match into a second overtime.
• Thomas More had a chance to net the game-winner in the 105th-minute on a scrum in front of the net, but Grether scooped up the ball and denied any chance for the Saints to score the winning goal. He went on to make another save in the 107th-minute to ensure the Bison would finish the evening with a draw.

MATCH NOTES

• Grether finished the day with a season-high 10 saves, including the stop on the penalty kick that allowed the Bison to tie the match.
• Arteaga's goal was his team-leading sixth of the season. He is currently tied for fourth in the PAC in goals.
• Thomas More held a 19-to-10 advantage in shots.
• Prior to the match the Bethany men's soccer team honored its seven seniors and senior team manager for their contributions to the program.

UP NEXT

• The Bison will continue their push for a bid into the PAC Tournament on Wednesday, October 25 when they host Washington & Jefferson under the lights of Bison Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
• A live stream of the match will be available here.