FULTON, Mo. - (RV) William Woods University (6-2-5) was down by two with nine minutes left, then
Pedro Salmon netted a brace in style to secure a 2-2 draw against a future conference opponent, No. 22 Central Methodist University (9-2-3) Thursday at North Campus Athletic Complex; the game was originally scheduled for Aug. 30, but it was postponed due to lightning in the area that day.
"Not how we wanted to start, but what a finish!" William Woods soccer coach
Tommy Nienhaus said. "Today was about getting deeper into our bench as both teams have an important conference game on Saturday. I was more liberal with the subs, and several players got important minutes against a top side.
"Today, we showed resilience, resolve and just how deep we are."
Like the Owls' 3-3 result Tuesday at Clarke University, another future conference opponent, they were outshot, tallying eight shots (seven on goal) to the Eagles' 13 shots (six on goal). Unlike Tuesday's matchup, WWU didn't take the lead, with the Owls clawing their way back to get their leveler.
In a tale of two halves, Central Methodist had the more favorable first half, with Guilherme Pereira bagging a first-half brace to give him the team lead in goals on the season with seven.
Pereira opened the contest's scoring in the 25th minute, slotting home his penalty kick into the left corner of the net after the Owls committed the second of their 12 fouls - CMU had nine fouls.
Eighteen minutes later, Pereira made it 2-0 Eagles when he scored a tap-in goal left corner off an Antoine Hurel assist, the French midfielder's first of the season, from the right side of the pitch.
Despite those two goals, CMU only outshot WWU four (two on goal) to three (two on goal) in the first half. Even more surprising, though, the Owls recorded all their goals in the second half when they were outshot nine (four on goal) to five (five on goal) by the Eagles.
As William Woods showed in its previous match and did again Thursday, it can make the most of the shots it gets. In this instance, Salmon did all that himself, finding the back of the net, phenomenally taken attempts, with both of his shots on goal.
Saving his first career goal for a primetime matchup against a ranked opponent, Salmon placed a screamer of a shot from 35 yards out into the top left of the net to cut the Owls' deficit in half, 2-1, in the 82nd minute.
Salmon nor the rest of William Woods wanted a one-goal defeat, and the Spanish sophomore defender ensured that wouldn't be the outcome. With just 1:39 remaining in the contest, Salmon curled his left-footed shot from just outside the penalty box past the Eagles' shot-stopper to seal an impressive draw for the Owls.
Following Salmon's leveler, William Woods' student section headed toward the fence to celebrate with him and the rest of the Owls' squad. The excitement among the WWU team and faithful didn't stop there, as the Owls jumped up onto the football bleachers and celebrated right in front of their supporters.
Making his first start in five matches, WWU goalkeeper
Wil Rieves (2-1-1) made three saves in five attempts.
Heading into the final matchup of their three-match week, the Owls extended their unbeaten streak to four games. Another interesting note: In its first two matches this week, WWU and its opponent had a player score two goals.
Both those trends will be interesting to follow, heading into a momentous Senior Day - Nienhaus' first senior class he recruited for the Owls - with Wililam Woods (2-0 American Midwest Conference) hosting (RV) Williams Baptist University (4-2-4, 0-1 AMC) at 3 p.m. Saturday. Although the Owls are 20-5 all-time versus the Eagles, they will seek to end their five-game losing streak in the matchup, which would be the icing on the cake on a special day.
