By Tony Miller
Sports Information Director

GOSHEN, Ind. — Thirty-eight seconds after the opening kickoff, the Goshen College men's soccer team started out on the right foot Wednesday night, as Uriel Macias' goal assisted by TJ White put the Maple Leafs up 1-0 on Taylor University at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.

More than two hours of real time and 109 minutes of gameplay later, that was all the team would get in a 1-1 draw after two overtime periods. Gabe Saliba put in a rebound to let the Trojans equalize with 13:38 left in regulation and each team's netminder came up with key stops in the extra periods to preserve the stalemate.

White's through ball to Macias, a pass that let the West Noble High School product score his fifth goal of the season and third of the last eight days, also led to one of the fastest goals in program history: for many years, the mark was held by Todd Woodworth, who scored 42 seconds into a 1976 game, but records of goal times are incomplete for several seasons between 1993 and 2006.

Taylor (5-5-3, 1-4-1 Crossroads League) got its first shot less than three minutes later and added three more over the ensuing 18 minutes, but two saves from GC keeper Johan Escalante left the home side in front.

Goshen (10-3-2, 3-1-2 CL) got another attempt from Macias in the seventh minute while TJ White hit the target once and missed wide a second time off a corner kick with two shots in the 40th minute. Each team finished the first half with six shots and three attempts on frame with the Maple Leafs ahead 1-0.

"Obviously the start was a bright spot tonight," said Goshen head coach Arron Patrick, who was denied a chance to level his career coaching record with his 32nd win. "Uriel did a great job using his body to create a good angle for the shot and tucked it away nicely."

The visitors threatened early in the second half as the Maple Leafs struggled to finish what they started. In the 50th minute, Lewis Nisbet saw his shot deflected before Sam Hardy followed up with an attempt that rattled off the southeast goalpost. In fact, neither team was on target in the second half until Sezonov saved an Ollie Smith free kick a minute before the middle of the stanza.

A foul on the ensuing possession gave the ball back to GC, where Smith would try again and produce a shot that sailed wide left before being played out for a corner. A moment later, however, the Maple Leafs were called offside to end the threat.

"Tonight we just weren't in it," Patrick said. "Taylor played some really nice stuff and we couldn't get out of second gear. Even when we worked hard to press the ball and won it back, we inexplicably turned over really simple passes. It was one of those nights. Taylor did a great job taking advantage of that."

The axiom holds that when one door closes, another opens, and unfortunately for Patrick's club the door yielded a counterattack. Taylor shifted possession gradually to its attacking end over the next eight minutes, culminating in a corner kick-induced sequence just after the 75 minute mark.

Zoltan Suranyi played the ball in: Goshen staved off the initial challenge but never got the ball all the way clear of danger. Hardy hit the post with a shot for the second time in 25 minutes, but this time Saliba followed up on the rebound to tie the score.

"They deserved the goal," Patrick said. "To be honest, we got lucky multiple times tonight. But you need luck, and we'll take that and move forward. For as flat as we were we still caused Taylor problems at times—had a few really nice chances and didn't execute. The lads are working ever so hard but things just didn't click."

The Maple Leafs would get off four more shots in the balance of regulation. Taylor had none but gave their hosts four free kicks in that span. Goshen followed up its own rebounds twice down the stretch, both the result of Nate Nussbaum's shot into the mixing bowl from 30 yards out: in the 80th minute Ethan Francois-Ravalier put a shot on goal for Sezonov to save while Macias would miss wide with barely a minute remaining.

The Maple Leafs had two of the better chances in 20 minutes of overtime. In the 97th minute, Nussbaum headed the ball to Smith, who used his own head to aim for the upper-right quadrant before Sezonov interfered. Six minutes later, a pass from Darius Rawlins led to another Smith shot and a diving stop.

A Taylor free kick with 90 seconds left missed the target and the rebound attempt from Lewis Nisbet hit the post before being cleared.

"We have a lot to do to finish off the good start we have had to the season," Patrick said. "It's in our hands what comes of this season, and I have no doubt there are big things left for this group. They are such fun to coach: even though it's not always smooth sailing, we really are a tight family and that mentality will stand us in good stead. We still gained a point tonight and made up ground on teams above us and that is positive progress."

Goshen finished the game with a one-shot edge, taking 16 shots to Taylor's 15. Each team received 17 free kicks while Sezonov finished with six saves to Escalante's five.

With the tie, Goshen squandered a chance to seal a berth in the eight-team Crossroads League tournament, something the team has achieved in every year save one since the tournament's 1995 inception. The Maple Leafs can clinch as early as Saturday with two games remaining, locking in their berth most easily with a win.

The draw moved Goshen from sole possession of third place into a tie for third in the conference: Huntington upset league-leading Grace to pull level with the Maple Leafs and knock the Lancers into second place behind Spring Arbor. Since Goshen and Huntington tied in the regular season, if the teams finish with the same conference record, the tie will be broken by their goal difference, where the Foresters currently have a two-goal lead.

The Maple Leafs conclude their regular season with a home game on October 28 against Grace after a two-match road trip beginning this weekend. Goshen will take on Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio at 7 p.m. Saturday at Mount Vernon High School. That time and location represent a change from schedules posted before June 16, which had the match at 2 p.m. on the MVNU campus.