PENSACOLA â€" After back-to-back come-from-behind wins, Florida Southern got to enjoy the lead for most of Sunday’s game at West Florida. The Moccasins found it just as difficult to hold, however, as the Argonauts rallied from a 2-0 deficit and both teams earned a hard-fought 2-2 draw.
“If you’d asked me before we left on this trip would I take 1-0-1, I’d have said yes, and I might have stayed home with my wife and daughter,†said Moccasin coach Hugh Seyfarth.
The Moccasins (4-0-1) got on the scoreboard seven minutes into the game after a West Florida foul gave them a free kick on the Argos’ side of the field. Zach Hofstetter sent it from the right sideline into the box where Ashley Holmes powered in a header for his first goal of the season.
Florida Southern went up 2-0 in the 29th minute when Viktor Bakkioui scored on a rebound for his fourth goal of the year. Brad Hunt took the initial shot coming out of the left corner and nearly scored himself, but goalkeeper Elliott Purdom made a diving save to deny him. Purdom couldn’t recover in time though to stop the follow-up by Bakkioui.
West Florida (2-1-1) picked up its first goal just before halftime, and like Florida Southern, used a rebound to do it. Matt Tanner took the initial shot from well outside the box and had it rattle off the bottom of the crossbar. Before the Mocs could do anything about it, Jimmy Merritt swept in and knocked in the loose ball to get the Argonauts within one.
The second half was a war of attrition. Though each team had chances on corner kicks and a handful of dangerous crosses, neither had a shot until the 68th minute when Givi Kokaia had a go at one from the top of the box. West Florida didn’t have one until scoring the equalizer on a free kick in the 83rd minute.
Frank Cope took the free kick for the Argonauts, sending it across the field for Marquell Waldron. As the Mocs closed in on Waldron, he quickly passed it on to Trey Kramer, who fired a shot from 23 yards that ricocheted off the left post and into the net.
After that, the shots started coming for both teams, and both had an equal chance to win before the end of regulation. Adam Hansjons hit the post for Florida Southern just a few seconds after Kramer had tied the score, and West Florida’s Andre Verardi had a frightening shot in the 88th minute that was saved by Johan Jonsson.
Once the game was in overtime, the Mocs nearly ended things quickly. A long throw-in by Hunt was flicked backwards by Bakkioui for James May running in on the far side of the box. May had a good look at the goal but sent the shot just high.
The final minute of the second overtime proved to be tense for the Moccasins as the Argonauts came close to scoring not once, but twice. Both shots came from Jason Ream, who first fired one over the crossbar from 30 yards out, then volleyed one from the top of the with three seconds to play. That one was right on target, but Jonsson snuffed it out to preserve the tie.
Jonsson had to make only three saves in the game, but each was a difficult chance. Purdom stopped two shots for West Florida, which held a 17-10 advantage in shots taken.
The Moccasins also got good work from freshman defender Ricky Marton, who was forced to step into the lineup just five minutes into the game when Aleksander Ratkovic was lost due to injury. Marton went the rest of the way, and it was his header with 20 seconds left in the second half that broke up West Florida’s final scoring chance before overtime.
“While I’m a little upset we lost a 2-0 lead, I’m still pleased with the progress this team had made,†said Seyfarth. “We battled for 110 minutes with a team that embarrassed us last year in Lakeland (a 6-1 win by the Argonauts), so to come up here one year later and play the way we did today, it shows how far we’ve come.â€
Florida Southern will be off until Saturday when it hosts Eckerd College at 7:00 p.m.
