LEBANON, Ill. – Two seasons ago, Missouri S&T pulled out a 1-0 win at McKendree on
Timmy Kenny (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette)'s goal late in the contest.
On Friday, the Miners duplicated that feat – a little later but before the final horn sounded – as
Eduardo Abichabki (Sao Jose do Rio Pardo, Brazil/Colegio Unigrau) scored with 1:16 remaining in regulation time to break a scoreless tie and give S&T a
1-0 win at McKendree's Leemon Field.
The Miners appeared headed to their third straight overtime contest -- and second without a goal being scored in regulation time – before Abichabki got a ball past Bearcat goalkeeper Scott Armistead off a head ball pass from
Felipe Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) to give the Miners the victory. Abichabki was closely defended when he got the ball, but hit a shot from close range that hit off the crossbar and fell into the goal.
McKendree had the run of play for a majority of the contest, outshooting the Miners 8-3 in the opening half and 8-4 in the final 45 minutes, while also accumulating 10 corner kicks to S&T's five. However, Miner goalkeeper
James Holloway (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Notre Dame Regional) was up to the task, stopping all five Bearcat shots on goal.
The Bearcats had two shots to tie the contest after the Abichabki goal, but the first attempt was blocked by the defense and the latter, a free kick also taken by Kavel Smith, was hit wide of the net with just under a minute to play.
Missouri S&T improved to 4-5-2 overall and 3-4-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while McKendree fell behind the Miners in the league standings at 3-5-1 in league play and 3-6-2 overall.
The Miners will face Bellarmine Sunday in Louisville, Ky., at 2:30 p.m., Eastern time.
