MORROW, Ga. – One of the oldest truisms in sport was on display at Laker Field Friday afternoon during the Lander men's soccer match versus Clayton State: play until the final whistle.
Omar Erwa and the Bearcats took that to heart and scored the game-tying goal with five seconds left to secure a 1-1 draw and a point in the Peach Belt Conference standings.
Lander (4-4-4, 3-2-3 PBC) maintained its one-point edge over the Lakers (5-3-4, 3-2-2 PBC) to stay in third place with four matches remaining. They will face each other again on Oct. 26 in the regular-season finale.
The Lakers outshot the Bearcats 17-5 and 5-1 in shots on target, but it was Erwa's shot that made the biggest difference. Jonah Arzman lofted a corner kick into the box from the far corner that
Storm van de Werken attempted to bicycle-kick, but his shot was blocked. The ball fell to Erwa who then fired a shot through traffic and into the upper-right corner of the net in a dramatic finish.
LU's players swarmed each other in celebration and the ensuing restart kick-off was academic.
The Bearcats – donning blue and white – came close to scoring the match's first goal with a shade under three minutes to play in the opening half when
Vidar Rydell lasered a shot off the crossbar. The teams went into halftime tied at 0.
Clayton State broke through in the 67th minute.
Jack Ammann made four saves, a pair in each half, to cap off a week that featured 11 stops and a 1-0-1 record.
Lander welcomes Middle Georgia to town on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at Van Taylor Stadium.
