ST. GEORGE, Utah – Dixie State men's soccer team posted a draw against Dominican, 2-2, Thursday afternoon at Hansen Stadium.
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"The team played extremely hard tonight," said Dixie State head coach
Danny Ortiz. "This group continues to show great character as they continue to play hard until the final whistle."
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The Red Storm struck first in the 40
th minute when
Ethan VandenBosch (South Ogden, UT/Bonneville) rifled shot into the left side of the net off a rebounded shot by
Bryan Baugh (Henderson, NV/Green Valley). The goal capped a first half that saw Dixie State (1-11-2/1-8-1) outshoot the visiting Penguins, 11-5.
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Dominican (2-12-2/2-7-1) scored twice in the span of 53 seconds to take a 2-1 lead. Lee LeVerrier took a delivered ball in the box and put it away to the left post. Kolby Mitnick then found the net after a loose ball ended perfectly on his foot.
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VandenBosch turned into a facilitator for the match equalizer in the 80
th minute. His pass allowed Santiago Guerrero to erase the Penguin lead and tie the match at 2-2.
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"We gave up an early lead," Ortiz added. "But the guys fought back to tie it up."
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After some tempers began to flare late in the second half, the physicality increased. At the end of regulation, Dominican's Alex Herrera was penalized with a straight red card hindering his team by playing a man down heading into overtime.
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Dixie State had all of the shot opportunities in the first overtime, including two by
Michael Gray (Las Vegas, NV/Bishop Gorman).
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The Penguins seized momentum early in the second overtime with two corner kicks and one header attempted saved by
Eddie Ortiz (Las Vegas, NV/Cimarron). The last of six Dominican yellow cards flipped the energy of the period towards the Storm. Two final attempts from Baugh and
Jorge Echavarria (Las Vegas, NV/Sierra Vista) each missed right as the match ended 2-2 after full time.
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Dixie State outshot Dominican 23-10 for the match, but the Penguins had more corner kicks (5-3).
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The Storm continues play at home Saturday at 10 a.m. with a match against Academy of Art.