The Basics

Score: Evangel 3, Bethel 3 | Box Score

Record: Evangel (7-3-2, 3-3-1), Bethel (5-6-1, 4-2-1)

Location: North Newton, Kan. (Thresher Field)

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. – Valor Men's Soccer took to the road on Saturday (Oct. 12) afternoon, looking to take a win against a strong Bethel College team at their place. Evangel put forward a strong performance in the second half, scoring three goals to draw with their tough opponent, 3-3.

Evangel and Bethel battled in the first half, with Bethel's only strong opportunity coming on a penalty kick that they nailed, giving the Threshers a 1-0 lead. Both Caleb Kuchta and Juyong Kim nearly evened the score in the half, but saves from the Bethel keeper kept Evangel off the board, as the Valor trailed 1-0 heading into the halftime break.

Right out of the gate to begin the second half, Evangel earned a strong opportunity when Ruben Gonzalez drove through defenders and found Amari Forbes, who scored Evangel's first goal of the afternoon, tying the game. Bethel did retake the lead at the 53:52 mark, on yet another penalty shot, making it a 2-1 game. With time running out in the final half of play, Evangel battled to try and find an equalizer. Rem Harmsworth, who has been a strong piece of the Valor offense when healthy, made sure he did not miss his opportunity late in the game. With just three minutes remaining, Igor Ovcarevic found Harmsworth, who buried the game tying goal, making it 2-2. The duo did not stop there though, as just forty seconds later, the duo pulled off a repeat score, giving Evangel a 3-2 lead. After using all their energy to attempt a comeback, Bethel was able to break through the defense with just under two minutes remaining to tie the game up at 3-3. Eneh Chibuzor had Evangel's final opportunity in the match, but could not score after the Bethel keeper made the stop, as the Valor were able to come back and earn a point with the 3-3 draw.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Rem Harmsworth took the team lead for goals scored so far this year after his two-goal performance, moving to six on the season.

• Igor Ovcarevic earned his fifth assist of the season in the tie.

• Evangel outshot Bethel, 15-13.

QUOTABLE

"That was one of the most exciting games I have ever coached in. Our team, missing two starters, fought incredibly hard against a very good offense. We made a pretty frustrating mistake in the beginning of the game and we had a goal taken away from us, but our guys didn't flinch. We just kept fighting," Men's Soccer Head Coach Kyle Beard stated. "I think both teams were out of gas towards the end. Our guys just found something from within and kept playing until the end. We took the lead and ran out of gas in the last 3 minutes, but I'm incredibly proud of how hard we played and to give us a much needed point in this very competitive conference"

UP NEXT

Evangel Men's Soccer hits the road at 7:30 p.m. in Bartlesville, Okla., to take on the nationally ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles on Wednesday, October 16th.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.