The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 2, UIC 2
Records: Detroit Mercy 1-7-4 (0-3-2 HL), UIC 4-5-3 (3-1-1 HL)
Location: Chicago, Ill. (Flames Field)
CHICAGO (10/8/2016) -- It was quite a physical affair on Saturday night as the University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team went on the road and came away with a 2-2 draw at UIC in the Windy City.
The game featured a combined 49 fouls and seven yellow cards with each squad converting a goal on a penalty kick.
The Titans saw UIC pepper their defense all night long with the Flames posting a 28-8 shot advantage, but Detroit Mercy made the most of its opportunities.
The red, white and blue got on the board first as redshirt freshman
James Solomon located senior
Tommy Bowman and the veteran did the rest beating the keeper for a 1-0 lead in the 36th minutes. Solomon tallied his first collegiate point on the play with the assist.
The Titans were up 1-0 at the half despite the Flames owning an 8-4 shot advantage at the time. That was due in large part to junior goalie
Robbie Beckwell coming up with three key saves in the first half. He would finish with seven stops in the game, the most he has had in a Horizon League contest on the year.
UIC knotted the game at 1-1 in the 70th minute, but Detroit Mercy came right back taking advantage of a Flames' miscue that saw a yellow card issued to the keeper. The play resulted in a penalty kick and freshman
Justin Murray cashed in netting his first career goal and giving the Titans a 2-1 lead with less than 10 minutes left.
Unfortunately nearly two minutes later, UIC was given a penalty kick and the attempt was successful, tying the game at 2-2 at the 82:09 mark.
The Titans did their best to hold UIC off the scoreboard the rest of the way as the Flames had three more shots in the second half and eight total in the final 28 minutes, including overtime. Beckwell made three more saves in the final seven minutes of regulation to send the contest into extra time.
Detroit Mercy had a couple of looks in the second overtime as freshman
Garret Weaver's header was saved early in the period, and Solomon had a shot blocked in the 104th minute.
On Tap
Detroit Mercy will have a week off before its next competition as the Titans host Wright State on Saturday, Oct. 15. The game is part of a Titan soccer doubleheader with the women entertaining Cleveland State at 1:00 p.m., before the men's game at 4 p.m.
