ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's soccer team competed at home on Wednesday against Hope College, who was receiving votes in the most recent NCAA DIII national poll. The Thunder were able to record a draw in the match after a scoreless pair of overtimes.
Tyler Murphy [Greenfield, Ind. / Greenfield Central] buried a goal in the 56th minute after a long outlet pass and he beat the last defender and found a hole in the bottom right corner of the net to take a 1-0 lead. It is his 10th of the 2021 campaign.
That advantage held until the final minute of action, when the Flying Dutchmen were full throttle on offense and a header by Griffin Brown found its mark to send the game to extra time.
The tie keeps Trine at .500 in both their overall record (6-6-1) and conference record (1-1-1). Hope is now 8-2-2 overall and remain unbeaten in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play at 4-0-1.
Two of the first three shots of the match were taken by the Flying Dutchmen, with two of them blocked by defenders and one saved by the goalkeeper Troy Saylor [Caledonia, Mich. / Caledonia]. Trine countered with long distance shots by Trevor Towghi [Portage, Mich. / Portage Northern] and Alhasan Yahya [Melvindale, Mich. / Melvindale] but both were saved.
In the 19th minute, Murphy had a wonderful look at the net, but the Hope keeper went all the way to the crossbar to make a diving save and keep the match scoreless. That would be the final opportunity of the half for the Thunder. The Flying Dutchmen held a 10-3 shot advantage in the first.
Yahya and Brian Morris [Metamora, Mich. / Lapeer] triggered the offense for Trine in the second half, and eventually Murphy beat the defense for the game's first score.
The next five shots belonged to the Flying Dutchmen as they began to get desperate to get on the board. That left them open for a counterattack in the 82nd minute, where Murphy struck the right post with a sliding shot.
The game-tying goal in the 90th minute forced overtime, where Hope was able to get two shots, one of which nailed the crossbar, inches from ending the match with a golden goal. The Flying Dutchmen added two more in the second overtime, extending their shot advantage to 24-8 for the match.
Saylor was able to get a hand on 11 shots, the most in one match for his career as a sophomore.
Trine continues league play at Kalamazoo College on Saturday, October 16 in an evening match at 5 pm.
