For the second straight year Wabash and DePauw battled on the soccer pitch for 110 minutes without a final result. Wednesday night's battle at Mud Hollow Field ended in a 2-2 tie. (View photos from the match here.)
Wabash struck early in the second half after a scoreless opening period. Sophomore Austin Jennings took a pass from Dave Rosborough in front of the net and beat Tiger goalkeeper Nate Sprenkel for the first goal in the 64th minute. Ten minutes later the Little Giants struck again. A DePauw foul on a breakaway in the box gave Wabash a penalty kick in the 74th minute. Junior Mark Babcock's fake sent Sprenkel diving to his left, only to see the ball kicked into the opposite side of the net for the second goal of the match.
The Little Giants watched the clock move slowly toward the end of regulation, but not fast enough to escape with the win. The Tigers Beau Sorg cut the lead to one goal after drilling a shot past Wabash goalkeeper Pat West on a restart after a Wabash foul from 24 yards away from the net. A second foul call with 27 seconds remaining in the match led to another restart by Sorg. His kick found Jent Botterman on the far post, who headed the ball back to the center. Brian Lawless deflected the pass into the net with 21 seconds remaining to send the match into overtime.
Head coach Roberto Giannini comments on his team's play.
Wabash managed the only shot on net in extra time off a header by Drew Kapsalis that was handled by Sprenkel before the evening ended in a 2-2 tie.
Each goalkeeper finished with three saves. The Little Giants had one of their six shots on goal knocked away by a DePauw defender before it crossed the goal line.
The two teams played to a 0-0 tie last season in Greencastle, the only two ties in the 47-match history. The squads have played five total overtime matches, with Wabash winning two with two ties.
The Little Giants are 2-3-1 on the season and begin North Coast Athletic Conference play Saturday with a noon home match versus the College of Wooster. DePauw, ranked 23rd in the latest coaches poll, is 3-0-1.
Photos - (Top right) Austin Jennings celebrates his second goal of the season. His shot gave Wabash a 1-0 lead against DePauw.
(Bottom left) Sophomore Pat West records one of his three saves versus the Tigers.