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SPORTS

Wildcats Battle League-Leading Rhode Island to 2-2 Draw

Davidson Wildcat sophomore John Dale makes a celebratory slide toward the fans after scoring the Cats second goal against the University of Rhode Island. The Wildcats held a 2-1 lead until the final seconds of match when the Rams tied it up. After two overtime periods the score remained 2-2.

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Jordan Hill scored a goal and set up another as Davidson battled league-leading Rhode Island to a 2-2 (2OT) draw in Atlantic 10 men’s soccer action Saturday evening at Alumni Stadium.

With the tie, the Wildcats are 7-4-2 overall and 2-2-1 in league play, while Rhody extends their unbeaten streak to 10, moving to 8-2-3 and 3-0-1.

Chae Brangman put the Rams up 1-0 in the 25th minute with his team-leading sixth goal, which came off a loose ball in the box following a Dominik Richter corner kick.

Shortly after Charlie Caswell and Hill just missed equalizers early in the second half, Hill got another chance and delivered a beautiful header off a Hunter Howard cross.

At the 74:01 mark, John Dale gave the Wildcats their first lead with his second strike of the season. The go-ahead score came off a Cort Coxhead free kick from just outside the box that Hill centered to the sophomore midfielder.

With just 25 seconds to play in regulation, Richter forced the extra time when he snuck a loose ball into the goal’s lower right corner.

The two teams combined for 35 shots, with the Rams holding a 19-16 edge.

Sam Bissett led both keepers with seven saves, including one from point-blank range in the second overtime, while Nils Leifhelm stopped four shots for Rhode Island.

Up Next
Davidson will play its next two on the road beginning with a 6 p.m. contest at George Washington on Wednesday evening.

Postgame Thoughts from Head Coach Matt Spear
“Rhode Island is very good – I am not sure if more than 3-4 teams in the country are riding a 10-game unbeaten streak. They were able to put their stamp on the game in the first half, and as we anticipated, Chae Brangam was a really big, effective center forward target.”

“We gained a bit of momentum at the end of the first half, and that carried over to a much better second half.”

“The guys’ energy was better, we were pressing really well, and took control of the match.”

“Jordan had a huge impact on the game with the header on the first goal on a well-placed cross from Hunter. Then he somehow got on the end of the cross from Cort to send it to John for the second goal. Two extremely athletic, key moments to push us into the lead.”

“At 2-1, Rhode Island began to put more pressure on us, and we just couldn’t quite hold on for that final minute to see a victory through.”

“The late goal shifted the momentum and Sam made some key saves in overtime to preserve the tie.”

Hugh Chatham gave us an important lift off the bench as a forward and Charlie had his best match in the past couple weeks.”

“Interesting note is that all four goals came from set pieces, just underlining their significance in close battles.”

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