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Milo Libby double helped PLNU Men's Soccer earn a point on the road at Seattle Pacific on Thursday night in a pulsating 3-3 draw.
"It was a wide-open affair that was a fair result at the end of the day," Head Coach
Phil Wolf said. "I'm really proud of the boys for finding a way to get a point on the road in a difficult place."
Libby gave the Sea Lions an early lead in the 13th minute off a
Samuel Tuscano free kick.
The left-footed winger curled a ball into the box, which was cleared only as far as
Marlon Buck. Buck's effort was deflected by a defender toward the right post, where Libby's 6-foot-4 frame leaped over the SPU defense to head it home.
PLNU held its lead for nearly 30 minutes until the Falcons found an equalizer just before the break.
The Sea Lions regained their advantage 14 minutes into the second half through Tuscano after a slick passage of play.
Milan Diklic's diagonal ball from his right back position was flicked on by Buck into the path of
Parker Scalzo on the left wing. Scalzo then slid a ball across the face of goal to Tuscano, who finished first time from eight yards out with the inside of his left foot.
PLNU's lead this time only lasted a couple minutes, as the Falcons answered right back with a headed goal.
The hosts appeared to then score the winner with a penalty kick goal in the 86th minute following a Sea Lion foul.
But it was Point Loma this time finding an equalizer with Libby scoring his second goal of the game on a set piece.
Christopher Burgos Lara sent a dangerous corner kick into the box, which the opposing keeper was only able to swat a few feet away.
Matthew Abangan then headed the ball toward goal for Libby to poke home and earn the Sea Lions a dramatic draw.
"We showed a ton of character to fight back and draw that match after a late penalty," Wolf said.
Not much separated the two sides throughout the match, with SPU holding a slight 16-15 advantage in shots (5-5 in shots on goal) and PLNU having a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
After not scoring in their first three matches of the season, the Sea Lions have now registered multiple goals in each of their past two contests.
"We need to improve defensively on that performance but we did some good things overall," Wolf said.
Point Loma (1-3-1 overall) concludes its Pacific Northwest trip on Saturday when the Sea Lions take on No. 23 Western Washington in Bellingham at 7 p.m.
