Melbourne, Fla. --- The Mississippi College men's soccer team capped off their weekend tour of the sunshine state Sunday by playing Florida Tech University to a 1-1 draw. The draw brings the Choctaws record to 1-0-1 on the year.
"I thought it was a good start to the season for us," Head Coach
Kevin Johns said. "We were able to go on the road and get four points against one of the best Division II conferences in the country."
The Choctaws drew first blood in the contest, when junior transfer
Horacio Gutierrez Jr. knocked in his first goal of the season and as a Choctaws in the 9
th minute.
Jorge Delgado contributed for the assist. Luca Campanin booted in the equalizer for Florida Tech in the 38
th minute, when he stole a pass and got off a left-footed strike that went just over the keeper. One half and two overtime periods passed without either team being able to score, resulting in the 1-1 draw.
Horacio Gutierrez Jr. set the pace offensively for the Choctaws, with his lone goal and three shots taken in the contest.
Jorge Delgado and
Dinho Zwane both took two shots.
Sergio Garcia accounted for the other shot on goal, and
Bastian Busch also took a shot for the Choctaws in the game.
In Goal,
Humberto Pelaez put together another outstanding performance, accounting for six saves on seven attempts. The junior goalkeeper racked up 11 saves, while allowing only one goal over this two-game span.
The Panthers outshot the Choctaws 21-10, with seven shots on goal to MC's two. MC took five shots in the first half, two in the second and three over two overtime periods.
Florida Tech took five corners, to MC's four. Both teams were tagged for five offside calls.
"I thought it was a great starting point to our season," Johns said. "These tough games will help us prepare four our conference games down the road. We had a lot of guys perform very well over these two games, and we've got a chance to develop into a strong team."
The Choctaws play again on Friday, Sept. 9, where they will play host to Auburn University at Montgomery at Robert P. Longabaugh Field in their home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
