EVANSVILLE, Ind. –
Gabriel Ontiveros' (Bartlesville, OK/Bartlesville) first goal for Missouri S&T came at a very appropriate time Sunday afternoon, as his tally in the 90
th minute of play allowed the Miners to gain a 3-3 tie with Southern Indiana in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
With just 43 seconds remaining in regulation time and the Miners down by a goal,
Dario Rossell (Madrid, Spain/IES Lazaro Cardenas) sent a pass through the USI defense to Ontiveros, who hit a shot inside the far post to tie the game and force it into overtime.
Neither team was able to break the tie in overtime as the wide-open contest ended in a draw. The Miners outshot the Screaming Eagles 17-16 in the game and also had a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal.
The Miners (5-7-2, 4-6-2 GLVC), who had scored just twice in their previous seven games, needed less than a minute to get on the scoreboard Sunday as
Jason Jorgensen (Florence, Italy/Liceo Scientifico Santa Maria) had a shot stopped by USI goalkeeper Justin Faas, but
Julien Denis (Olathe, KS/Olathe East) was there to knock in the rebound for the initial goal of the contest.
Southern Indiana tied the score on a Graham Miller goal in the 17
th minute of the contest and the team would remain even for the balance of the first half. The Screaming Eagles had a golden opportunity to take the lead right before halftime, but Brian Winkler hit a shot off the crossbar with seconds remaining in the half.
The Miners got the lead back early in the second half on a counterattack, concluding when Ontiveros sent a ball from the end line in front of the net to Rossell and he hit it into an open net to give S&T a 2-1 advantage. However, the Screaming Eagles tied things up again in the 78
th minute when the Miners were unable to get a ball cleared out and Miller got his second goal of the game when he slipped a shot by S&T goalkeeper
Davis Joseph (Andover, KS/Andover Central).
USI then grabbed its first lead of the contest five minutes later when Ryan Nevins got a pass near midfield, wove through the S&T defense and hit a low shot from the top of the box that went in just inside the far post.
Jorgensen got an open look at a shot in the box early in the first extra period that Faas stopped, but popped up in the air before he secured it, then
Jimmy Sanchez (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell Central) had a chance moments later that Faas made the save on as well. Jorgensen had another chance in the 96
th minute on a head ball that Faas had to leave his feet to stop.
USI had two good opportunities of its own early in the second overtime period, but Joseph turned away a shot by Zach Schoenstein and the rebound attempt was blocked by the defense.
Joseph finished with four saves in goal for the Miners, who were playing their final GLVC road contest Sunday. S&T closes its 2021 regular season schedule with a pair of home games next weekend, starting with Friday's 7:30 p.m. match against Illinois Springfield.