QUINCY, Ill. – With Maryville trailing 1-0 in the final five minutes,
Jose Vilela struck in the 87th minute to snatch a victory away from the Quincy Hawks and salvage a 1-1 tie Wednesday evening.
The draw is the Saints' second of the season, leaving Maryville atop the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) standings with 20 points.
Maryville finished with a 10-9 advantage in shots but trailed 3-2 in shots on goal.
Axton Anom and
Paulo Junior Sousa Rodrigues led the Saints with three shots apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Anom's first shot came in the 12th minute, when the fingertips of the Quincy goalkeeper denied his one-on-one opportunity.
Anom kept pushing, taking two more shots in the 13th and 15th minutes, though neither was on frame.
An early yellow card against the Saints following Anom's last attempt helped flip the field for the Hawks. Quincy's first shot on goal came in the 19th minute, with
Asgrimur Vidisson making the save.
Quincy camped in the offensive end from there, taking five more shots in the first half while Maryville managed just two more before intermission.
Play followed much the same pattern out of the break, but as the clock ticked down, each team pressed harder for the opening goal. The breakthrough finally came in the 77th minute, when a foul just outside the box gave Quincy a free kick. The Hawks caught Maryville off guard with a quick restart, floating the ball into the net before the Saints could get set.
Quincy did all it could to keep the Saints out of its defensive half, but a corner kick in the 85th minute gave Maryville one of its best chances of the second half. After the ball was cleared out of the box, Sousa Rodrigues and
Henry Atkinson worked it through midfield to Vilela. After making a pair of Hawks miss, Vilela blasted a shot inside the far post in the 87th minute for the equalizer and his third goal of the season.
Neither team registered another shot in the closing minutes.
UP NEXT
The Saints return home to face the UIS Prairie Stars on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2:30 p.m.
