Men's Soccer

Physical Contest Leaves Men's Soccer on Level Terms With Guilford

Box Score

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- In a physical contest with no shortage of plot lines, Randolph and Guilford were forced to settle for a draw this evening.

The game featured 41 fouls and eight cards, including a pair of reds, and a roller coaster of emotions through the 110 minutes.

In the eighth minute, sophomore Kyle Unruh broke through the defense, but was stopped by a charging keeper.

In the 19th minute, sophomore Blake Heatherly came close to padding his team-leading point total, but his shot from distance hit the far post.

Guilford's first good chance came in the 36th minute, when Jordan Couch got through the defense and had a right-footed chance from eight yards, but junior goalkeeper CJ Stevens made a huge kick save.

The WildCats finally broke through off of a long shot from first-year El Hadji Beye, which found the back of the net to break the deadlock with just over five minutes left in the half.

Just before intermission a minor fracas broke out, resulting in a Guilford red card and a man advantage for Randolph to go along with the lead going to the second half.

Just 10 minutes into the second half, Beye found first-year Austin Black cutting into the box, forcing Guilford to commit a desperation foul to save an open net.

That ended up being a wise decision as, sophomore Brian Anderson could not convert from the spot to double the lead.

Soon thereafter, Guilford equalized off of a low free kick, which was poked into the cage to Stevens's right.

The teams each had plenty of chances in the waning minutes of the second half, but nobody could find the game winner, forcing overtime.

A crazy start to overtime featured two breakways, but neither found twine.

First-year Sam Griffith got by the defense, but was hunted down before releasing his shot.

A few minutes later, Albion Ida made a quick move in the box, but his left-footed strike didn't have enough juice to beat Stevens.

In the second overtime, Griffith almost broke through once again, but his shot, which went through the legs of keeper Marko Mandalinic, was cleared off the goal line by Angel Valencia.

Mandalinic made seven saves, while Stevens posted five in the contest.

With the time, Randolph has now gone unbeaten in its last 15 regular season overtime games, sitting at 9-0-6.

Randolph wore light blue warmups and socks, while Stevens sported a light blue goalkeeper jersey.

The WildCats were supporting prostate cancer awareness and raised funds for the cause during the game. To donate to the cause that has a special meaning to the team, click here

The WildCats are back in action tomorrow, as they travel to nationally-ranked Christopher Newport.

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