KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After scoring three goals in ten minutes midway through the second half, Avila men's soccer (2-4-1, 1-0-1 KCAC) looked to be in command, but McPherson (0-6-1, 0-1-1 KCAC) managed to rally and score twice in the final ten minutes of the game before fending off a late Eagle surge, and both teams walked away with a 3-3 draw in an exciting game on Sunday afternoon at The Z. 

A McPherson program that is a perennial power in the KCAC is still struggling to adjust to life under a new coach in 2023, and the Bulldogs, who scored a late equalizer before allowing an even later game-winner in their conference opener against Tabor on Wednesday, nearly followed the same script on Sunday: even after conceding the lead, Avila had chances to score in the literal last seconds of the game, but this time McPherson managed to close the door and eke out a draw. 

After a somewhat stale opening 45 minutes, the floodgates opened up for both offenses in the second half. Top Bulldog attacker Anthony Pereira got things started with a goal less than five minutes into the half, but Avila keeper Johnathan Fager responded by making a pair of saves to stem the tide. The Eagle offense had been quiet, but the team flashed some of its best setup play of the season to completely flip the script, inject the sideline with new life, and put the team ahead - all in the span of ten minutes. 

It all started in the 64th minute when Avila had its best chance of the game to date, a glancing header from Malcolm Goswell that sailed wide. But that became just a prelude of what was to come - a few minutes later, Avila was right back in on the attack and Goswell chipped in a pass from the right flank across the box to Vincent Escott for a nice finish at the near post, evening the score at one apiece in the 67th minute. 

And the Eagles were far from finished. Avila won the ball off McPherson on the ensuing kickoff and drummed up a great chance for Sam Kanda that Mac keeper Camden Wiseman turned aside. Undeterred, moments later, Goswell got the ball back and played it centrally for Kanda, who blasted the shot past Wiseman this time to put the Eagles on top for the first time. And just moments after that, after Joel Sterling's point-blank chance was cleared off the line by Caden Hardgrave, the Eagles got the ball right back, and Sterling played it through to Kanda who chipped around Wiseman and moved in for a close-range finish. Less than ten minutes after Escott's goal made it 1-1, Kanda's pair had made it 3-1.

The Eagles were absolutely flying on the field, and excitement was at an all-time high on the sideline as the team looked to be in command. The Bulldogs, however, in the midst of a winless season, impressively kept fighting, taking advantage of some different Eagle personnel and pulling off a late comeback. In the final ten minutes, the Bulldogs won a contentious penalty after a challenge from behind, and Pereira slotted it home to make it 3-2 in the 83rd minute. Not even two minutes later, after the Eagles blocked an Eric Mendoza free kick the ball ended up chipping up to a crashing Nathan Van Wyck, who scored a late equalizer for the second game in a row. With two goals in less than two minutes, McPherson had tied the game. 

Stunned but not satisfied, it was Avila that put together a high-quality chance in the dying moments. Fager made a long-range save on Dawson Sawyer to keep things tied, and Avila marched down the field and won a corner in the final minute for David Kehring, who played the full 90 as Avila's right back. Eventually the ball found Robert Davies for a turnaround shot that was blocked, but then the ball caromed to a waiting Thaddeus Chapman at the near post for a great chance that Wiseman came out and stopped with just two seconds on the clock. McPherson avoided another last-second collapse, and both teams had to settle for a 3-3 draw. 

Despite a bit of a heartbreaking finish, Avila men's soccer is undefeated through two conference games for the first time in their tenure in the KCAC. Avila will next hit the road for the first time in the conference season when the Eagles make the short trip up to Leavenworth to take on Saint Mary this Wednesday, September 20. The women's game will kick off at 5 PM with the men to follow at 7:30; as always, you can watch all the action on the KCAC Network.