SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Emotions running high for Senior Night saw a game between the top two teams in the Crossroads League which lived up to its hype. The much anticipated match was a back and forth battle throughout. The No. 24 ranked Spring Arbor University men's soccer team squandered two leads throughout the game that ultimately ended in a 2-2 tie. The tie allowed the Bethel College Pilots to secure the Crossroads League regular season title.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: #24 Spring Arbor 2, Bethel 2

LOCATION: Cougar Soccer Complex| Spring Arbor, Mich.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 10-3-4 (4-1-3 CL), Bethel 11-5-1 (6-1-1 CL)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Spring Arbor applied pressure early in the first half. In the 11th minute, Morris Kamara found himself with the ball all alone at the top of the 18. Staying calm, Kamara buried the ball in the back of the net to give the Cougars an early 1-0 lead.
• Only three minutes later, the Bethel Pilots found the equalizer. A beautiful ball played across the end line from Helton Moura found a streaking Lucas Moreira on the weak side, who finished far post to tie the game 1-1 in the 14th minute.
• The second half started similar to the first, a lot of pressure from the Spring Arbor offense. A quality ball played in from Jacob Crull found the diving head of Janum Sailor to give the Cougars a 2-1 second half lead.
• Shortly after the Spring Arbor goal, Bethel answered again. In the 63rd minute Moura's corner was served nicely into the box and Samuel Biek finished to tie the game again 2-2.
• Neither team could produce again in regulation so the match found its way into overtime. The first overtime session saw Bethel with a couple quality chances, but none found the goal.
• In the second overtime, Spring Arbor was the one applying the pressure. The Cougars also had their opportunities but were unable to find the winner.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The battle for the top spot in the league did not disappoint. A must win for the Cougars saw the home team squander two leads throughout regulation.
• The tie for Bethel clinched a Crossroads League title for the Pilots and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
• Bethel outshot Spring Arbor 24-16.
• Although not the result the Cougars were looking for, it does extend their home unbeaten streak to 20 games.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH NATHAN MILLER

• "Our guys compete at a high level and seeing a team celebrate a league title on our pitch after a draw does not feel good."
• "We played a very good first half and just had one individual lapse of concentration that hurt us. We need to learn from that as that is a tournament type moment. I think the first half we were very strong."
• "At halftime we were able to reorganize and talk about how to break them down more efficiently. The guys did a great job and scored a beautiful goal. After that we really lost our way and did not play with the tempo we wanted, it was not our best. Bethel is an excellent attacking team and tonight was a great match between two top teams. Our fans are the very best and we thank them for driving us forward."

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor finishes their regular season with a huge matchup at Marian University (7-9-1, 4-4-0 CL). The contest will be played Saturday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. in Indianapolis.

Men's Soccer Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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