LETHBRIDGE - Despite commanding a vast majority of the game, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's soccer team were unable to hold on for the win in a 1-1 draw on the road against the Lethbridge Pronghorns on September 7.
Gabriel Michael opened the scoring for the Huskies in the opening half and Pronghorn midfielder Landon Veluw brought his team level in the second half.
With the tie, the Huskies record now sits at 1-2-2 while the Pronghorns move to 0-3-2 on the season.
The Pronghorns had the first dangerous chance in the 25
th minute. Alasdair Coyle laid a ball to a streaking Ben Kutas who ripped a shot, beating Huskie keeper
Marcus Baxter but not the crossbar.
Following back-to-back corner kicks, the Huskies opened scoring in the 36
th minute. Defender
Gabriel Michael one touched a Pronghorn clearing attempt from long range past Pronghorn keeper Matt Vandervoort and into the left side of the net for his first of the season.
At the half, the Huskies held a 9-3 shot attempt advantage over the Pronghorns but only had two shots on goal. The Pronghorns failed to register a shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes, closest being Kutas' shot off the crossbar.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, the Huskies nearly doubled the lead. Tobais Hyrich-Krueger ran on the a slickly placed ball and tried to beat Vandervoort short side but Vandervoort was able to get a hand on the ball to keep his team within one.
Off a set piece from 30-yards out, Ellis Davies curling shot was stopped by Baxter, but he spilled the ball right to Kutas' feet. Kutas had a great look to tie the match but hit a Huskie defender on his attempt at goal.
The Pronghorns finally broke through offensively with just over 15 minutes remaining in the game. Freshman Landon Veluw took advantage of a bouncing ball in the Huskies box, slotting home his first career Canada West goal and tying the game at one.
Almost immediately off the restart, the Huskies came dangerously close to regaining the lead.
Jacob Powell had a great look from just outside the penalty area, that Vandervoort turned aside. Huskie
Gabriel Buatois jumped on the rebound, but his shot sailed over the net.
Vandervoort continued to keep the Pronghorns level, making solid saves off of Hyrich-Krueger and
Nikolas Baikas.
Shot attempts at full time heavily favored the Huskies with 24 to the Pronghorns 7. The Huskies forced Vandervoort into making eight saves. The Pronghorns only had two shots on goal. Both teams had six corners and committed 16 fouls.
With today's match being the only one for both teams this weekend, both teams will head out on the road to face Pacific Division teams. The Pronghorns will take on the Trinity Western Spartans and UBC Thunderbirds, while the Huskies face the Thompson Rivers WolfPack and Victoria Vikes.
