AMERICUS, Ga. – Playing through a steady rain throughout the evening, Georgia Southwestern State University erased a two-goal deficit with a pair of second-half goals Saturday to battle Lander University to a 2-2 draw in Peach Belt Conference action at Hurricane Field.
Taylor Vorbrich scored his first goal of the season in the 60th minute before
Juan Franco delivered the equalizer in the 80th as the Hurricanes (2-6-3, 0-4-3 PBC) snapped a five-match losing streak to the Bearcats (3-4-3, 2-2-2 PBC).
Lander applied pressure early and broke through at 15:28 when Savvas Chionakis connected with Jack Neumann for the opening goal.
GSW responded with a pair of opportunities over the next 13 minutes.
Mac Vargas forced Lander goalkeeper Ionas Giovanidis into a save in the 25th minute before Franco sent an attempt wide in the 29th.
The Bearcats carried the 1-0 advantage into halftime after outshooting GSW 10-4 over the opening 45 minutes.
Nathan Grady made three first-half saves for the Hurricanes.
Lander doubled its lead less than four minutes after the break when Callum Gregory set up Dylan Colley for a goal at 48:48.
The Hurricanes began their comeback 11 minutes later.
Following a Lander foul near the attacking third,
Dante Johnson drove a line-drive feed off the ensuing free kick toward the goal, where Vorbrich punched it in at 59:50 to cut the deficit to 2-1. The goal was the first of the season for Vorbrich, who became the sixth different Hurricane to find the net this fall.
GSW continued to press for the equalizer. Franco and Johnson both generated attempts over the next seven minutes, while Grady kept the Hurricanes within one with saves on Colley and Chionakis.
The tying goal arrived at 79:02.
Mane Birovljev put a shot toward the bottom-right corner that Giovanidis stopped, but Franco was there to put away the rebound and pull GSW even at 2-2.
The goal was Franco's second in as many matches after he scored his first of the season in the closing seconds against Clayton State on Wednesday.
GSW nearly completed the comeback in the closing minutes.
Theo Hoang forced Giovanidis into a save in the 84th minute, and
Jose Monteagudo followed just seven seconds later with another attempt on frame that the Lander goalkeeper turned away.
The Hurricanes outshot the Bearcats 7-4 in the second half after being outshot by six in the opening period. Lander finished with a 14-11 edge in total shots, while GSW put six attempts on goal to the Bearcats' seven. The teams finished even with seven corner kicks apiece.
Grady made five saves while playing all 90 minutes in goal for GSW. Franco led the Hurricanes with three shots, while Monteagudo had two. Vorbrich and Franco accounted for GSW's goals, with Johnson and Birovljev picking up the assists.
Next Up
The Hurricanes travel to league-leading Flagler College on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. match.
