Double OT Thriller with Maranatha Ends in Tie

WATERTOWN, Wisconsin—A thrilling, late-season, defensive battle between the Faith Eagles men's soccer team and the Maranatha Sabercats took two overtimes and still wasn't able to decide a winner Tuesday evening. Faith and Maranatha ended in a 1-1 tie.

Both scores came off of penalty kicks in the second half after a scoreless first half of action. Faith just missed on multiple shots at the goal in the first half with one kick bouncing off the top crossbar and another ending up in the arms of the goalkeeper on a remarkable diving save.

As the second half wore on, it appeared as though neither team may score until a penalty against Faith in the box resulted in a free kick on goal, resulting in the first score of the game at the 73-minute mark. The Eagles' offense struggled to get shots in the second half, but a fast break of their own resulted in a penalty against Maranatha in the box, and James Busenitz answered Maranatha's penalty goal with one of his own to tie the game at one with ten minutes to play.

The two overtimes offered heart-stopping moments for fans of both teams, with Maranatha and Faith each having plays at the goal that could have ended the game, but terrific goal-keeping and defense by both sides kept the game scoreless through the additional twenty minutes of action.

With the tie, the Eagles are now 1-6-1, and play their final two regular season games on the road on Thursday and Friday of this busy week. Thursday's match is against Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, Illinois, at 2 p.m. The Red Lions are 1-3 and have played one common opponent to Faith: Maranatha, whom they lost to by the score of 3-1. On Friday the Eagles will be in Michigan, where they will face Great Lakes Christian. Great Lakes has played Maranatha twice, losing 1-3 early in the season before earning a 1-1 tie with the Sabercats last week.