Dalton State played to a tough fought 2-2 (2 OT) tie with Point (Ga.) at River Point Stadium in West Point on Wednesday night.
The Roadrunners pressed early looking to strike first. Beginning at the 6' mark, Dalton State went at Skyhawk goalkeepter Gustavo Siquiera. It paid off when Santiago Moore and Noah Thomas teamed up for the first goal in the 9' to give the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead.
The attack continued until the 12', but the Birds couldn't get another goal on the board.
Defensively, Dalton State limited continuous attack opportunities for Point, only giving up single scoring chances. Guillermo Sofio and two shots go wide, while another from Martin Wainstein was saved by Aaron Fraire.
Matheus Fineto Gamileira and Jeremiah Ruth blocked scoring chances for Point from Sofio and Lorenzo Delvecchio, with Harrison Fraire and Richy Volny had opportunities saved by Siquiera. At the half, the Roadrunners continued to lead, 1-0.
Ten minutes before the first half ended, sophomore Justin Riescher was called for a red card meaning the Roadrunners would play the entire second half with 10 men. The Skyhawks looked to capitalize with fresh legs out of the break as Sofio and Lucas Conca to shots at Fraire, but the missed high and wide respectively.
Point hit the equalizer in the 60' when Facundo Placio took a pass from Sofio and beat Fraire. With the Birds down a man, scoring chances came at a premium as the defensive effort had to be doubled. From the 63' until the end of regulation, Dalton State still managed to outshoot Point 5-4.
With time getting close to the 90' mark, Point tried to take advantage of a tired DS defense. They struck in the 86' when Delvecchio scored on an assist Sofio to take a 2-1 lead. As play resumed, Dalton State immediately went on the offensive trying to tie the match and take it to overtime.
Their efforts were rewarded as Thomas and Moore teamed up again for the tying score in the 88'. When the horn went off the score remained tied as the match headed to overtime.
With both teams on tired legs, overtime number one was more of a possession stranglehold. At the end of the period, each team managed to get off one shot, but neither found its mark.
Overtime number two was a little more action packed. It started with a save from Siquiera on a Frank Herrera shot. From there, Placio had a shot in traffic blocked by Volny. Fabian Saborio then had a shot go wide for Point.
Three Roadrunner attempts from Fredrik Ackander, Jared Zauner, and Amin Saheb Ettabaa were then saved by Siquiera to preserve the 2-2 tie in the 106'. Two big saves from Fraire followed in the 107 and 109' on shots by Sofio and Saborio and another came in the 110' from Dalvecchio as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Dalton State (Ga.) goes to (4-1-1 overall) on the season with the tie, while Point (Ga.) now sits at (1-2-1 overall). Noah Thomas and Santiago Moore connected on both Roadrunner goals, the first in the 9' and the second in the 88'. Thomas now has three goals on the season, while Moore has two assists. Aaron Friare collected six saves in goal.
Scoring strikes for Point came from Facundo Placio in the 60' and Lorenzo Dalvecchio in the 86', both on assist from Guillermo Sofio. Gustavo Siquiera notched 11 saves in net for the Skyhawks.
The Roadrunners were efficient in the shots with 17-of-22 on goal versus just 8-of-20 for Point. The Birds also held the advantage in corner kicks (7-3).
It will be short rest for the Roadrunners as they play again on September 12 when they host Johnson (Fla.) at Lakeshore Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.