Last-minute equalizer helps Spartans secure draw

By Andrew Talamantes (@OkcAllDay):

The San Jose State Spartans (5-5-1, 2-0-1 WAC) played the Utah Valley University Wolverines (3-5-1, 0-0-1 WAC), ending in draw by a score of 1-1 in double overtime last night.

The game opened up with shots from UVU’s, Connor Salmon and Austin Buxton. The Spartans answered back with shots of their own from Max Allen, and Eduardo Buenfil in the 10th minute.

SJSU committed a total of four fouls in the first period, to UVU’s two.

This led to several corner kicks, however the Wolverines were unable to connect with any of them. The Spartans senior forward Jeremy Romero, senior defender Joe Kay, and sophomore defender Jeffrey Dukes played the entire game combining for a total play time of 330 minutes.

Wolverines sophomore midfielder Alec Felix scored the first goal of the game in the 67 minute,on an assist from Karson Payton.  Romero countered with a goal of his own, off an assist from Joe Kay in the 89 minute, his sixth of the season.

One minute into overtime play, UVU’s senior defenseman Giovanny Vasquez had an excellent header, but was saved by SJSU’s sophomore goalkeeper David Heredia.

This was followed by back-to-back header chances by SJSU’s Nicholas Brenes and then UVU’s Blake Frischknecht, both going wide. Allen took a shot in the 99th minute, but failed to convert, leading to an intriguing double overtime.

With the players entering double overtime, and for some players 100th minute of the game, the Spartans and Wolverines both looked to score early.

This period began with an early shot from UVU’S Buxton in the 101th minute, but was blocked by the Spartans goalkeeper. The game ended with yellow cards, given to both Heredia and Buxton.

The Wolverines and Spartans late push ended ended to no avail and led to a tie.  The tie was the first for the Spartans in conference play.

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