MARYVILLE – Despite playing down a man for the final 31 minutes of the match, Maryville walked away Wednesday night with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against first-place Covenant here at the MC Soccer Complex.
MC played the final 31 minutes of the contest with just 10 men, as
Tucker Smith picked up back-to-back yellow cards in the 57th and 59th minutes, leading to a red card, and a dismissal from the match.
Even with the disadvantage, Maryville didn't sit back on its heels and play defensively, continuing to attack and attempt to create opportunities to score. Maryville attempted four shots in the second half, doubling its two tries in the first 45 minutes.
"This was the hardest we have played all year long," Maryville head coach
Pepe Fernandez said. "Playing a man down and getting a point against a team that is leading the league right now is big. A point at this portion of the season is very big for us. And if we play that hard, we're going to be a tough team to beat through the rest of the regular season and the tournament."
"I'm really proud of the boys and proud of the effort tonight. Sometimes, you've got to dig your heels in and grind. We were in great shape going into the second half, and then that red card changed the game. But our kids ground it out and almost had a couple of decent looks. They could not stop us on the counter. Once we won the ball and played it forward, we were the aggressor and we looked good."
Maryville (4-8-3, 1-2-1 CCS) got on the board first in the contest, picking up the 1-0 lead in the 18th minute on a goal from
Brady Hammer.
Hammer, who earned his third CCS Rookie of the Week nod on Tuesday, drilled an open-net goal after getting past the keeper and firing from 10 yards out.
Jorge Graniel recorded an assist on the goal, his first of the year. Hammer leads the Scots with five goals for the season.
Covenant (9-3-3, 2-0-2 CCS) wasted no time evening up the score, scoring the game-tying goal off the foot of Henry Parker in the 21st minute. Kade Theunissen picked up the assist on the play. Theunissen dribbled deep down the left side before firing a precision pass right to Parker's foot, who tapped in the goal from the doorstep to make it 1-1.
Covenant outshot MC 24-6, including a 15-4 deficit in the second half, and held a 7-0 advantage in corner kick opportunities, but the Scots defense held strong over the final 69 minutes of play to hold on the 1-1 decision.
Maryville goalkeeper
Christian Alcaraz recorded seven saves in the contest, including a few high-difficulty stops to save the game in the second half. The Locust Grove, Georgia product made a huge save in the 90th minute, just getting his hands on a rocketed shot by Whitt Tisdale that looked destined for the back of the net.
In the end, Maryville battled through adversity to pick up a huge draw and remain in the hunt for a spot in the CCS Tournament. MC will be back in action Saturday for an important matchup against Huntingdon.
"Saturday at Huntingdon is huge," Fernandez said. "You get three points Saturday, and we probably put ourselves in the tournament. Then if we get three more the next weekend at Piedmont, you never know what is going to happen."
Kick off for Saturday's match is scheduled for 5 p.m. Central.
