GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Juan Diego Corral headed in the tying goal with 1:24 left in the second half as Tusculum University finished in a 1-1 draw with Lincoln Memorial University in South Atlantic Conference men’s soccer Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
The Pioneers (1-3-1, 0-1-1 SAC) seemed headed for a frustrating loss after Enrique Martin converted a penalty kick with 3:56 left for the Railsplitters (3-2-2, 2-1-1 SAC), but Tusculum earned a corner kick and Corral got into position to head in the service from Nicholas Slewion.
Offense was at a premium for most of the match, with Tusculum attempting seven shots and Lincoln Memorial three. Both teams had three shots on goal, with two saves apiece for the Pioneers’ Gavin Roux and the Railsplitters’ Daniel Benedek Miklosi.
In the first half, each team had one shot attempt with Carlos Perez steering a pass wide of the LMU net in the ninth minute and Roux jumping to punch away an attempt from distance by Martin in the 25th minute.
The match appeared to be headed to a scoreless draw before the Pioneers took a foul in the box to prevent a scoring opportunity. Martin was called upon to take the penalty and put home his second goal of the season at 86:04.
Corral would rescue the Pioneers with less than 90 seconds left as his header off the Slewion corner kick tied the score at 1-1. It was the first time that the Pioneers rescued a draw in the final two minutes since Oct. 5, 2022 against Anderson when Othmane Chagour scored with 1:54 remaining.
Lincoln Memorial had six corner kicks in the match to five for Tusculum, while the Pioneers were called for 19 fouls and the Railsplitters were whistled for 16.
The Pioneers will be home to face Catawba on Sunday, Sept. 27 beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Indians have been idle since a 0-0 draw with Emory & Henry on Saturday, Sept. 19, and have a streak of five straight shutouts to go with a 5-0-2 overall record.
