ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's soccer team drew a thrilling, 2-2 tie against the Titans of Illinois Wesleyan in its second match of the Flower City Classic. The tie brings the Cardinals' record to 1-0-1, while the Titans move to 0-1-1.
Illinois Wesleyan capitalized first in the 18th minute when the Titans intercepted a Fisher pass, eventually beating two defenders before burying the shot in the lower right corner of the net. The Titans would dominate most of the offensive end of the field in the first half, outshooting the Cardinals 6-3 while accumulating five corner kicks to Fisher's two. Zachary Munski registered two of Fisher's three shots, while Tyler Randall was credited with the third.
Illinois Wesleyan continued to build momentum in the first portion of the second half, eventually collecting its second goal off a throw in, just shy of the 61st minute. The Titans added an additional three shots on top of the second goal.
However, Fisher turned it on in the final 20 minutes of regulation play, scoring two goals to send the match to overtime. Amar Mann came in off the bench strong and scored the first goal for Fisher with 19:27 left on the clock, sending an unassisted bullet to the top right corner out of the keeper's reach.
In the 83rd minute, Dallas Kaiser sent a throw in sailing toward Justin Ferron, who headed in his first goal of the season, tying the game at 2-2. Despite Illinois Wesleyan outshooting the Cardinals 5-3, the teams headed to overtime.
The Cardinals fended off a few Titan scoring opportunities to bring the match to a final 2-2 draw. Joe Balls registered the only shot for Fisher in the two overtime periods.
Overall, Fisher finished with eight total shots, four of those being on goal. Munski and Bryan Rollins each blasted two a piece, while Ferron, Randall, Balls and Mann each added one.
Joe Catalfamo tallied three saves in 110 minutes of play on the day.
The Cardinals return to action at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Edwin Fauver Stadium against the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets.
