COLUMBUS, Ohio (Sept. 10) – The Vulcans rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second half on Saturday afternoon to earn a 2-2 tie at Ohio Dominican in non-conference action.
With the tie, the California (PA) men's soccer team stands at 1-2-1 this season while playing its first road game in nearly two weeks. Meanwhile the Panthers also move to 1-2-1 overall after appearing in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
ODU took a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute on a penalty kick by Khalif Hassan, an All-G-MAC Second-Team selection last year. The Panthers continued to apply pressure on the net with a corner kick just over a minute later before stretching the lead to 2-0 at the 25:04-mark on a goal by Shingai Nindi, a 2021 All-G-MAC First-Team honoree. Cal attempted to counter before halftime with a pair of shots in just over two minutes and were whistled for two offsides in the final minutes of the first half.
In the opening five-plus minutes of the second half, the Vulcans attempted a pair of shots and registered a corner kick before the Panthers placed a shot on net in the 54th minute. Cal pressured the net with a pair of shots on goal in the 65th minute before junior
Zach Vanek (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) tallied a goal at the 65:21-mark off a pass from freshman
Brady Olsen (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs). With just over 20 minutes left, Sheik attempted a pair of shots for the Panthers before they were whistled for offsides.
Cal mounted an aggressive attack on the net in the 82nd minute with Olsen placing a pair of shots on goal with the second attempt resulting in a 'team save' that led to a corner kick. At the 83:05-mark, Olsen tied the score at 2-2 with assists from sophomore
Logan Errett (McDonald, Pa./Trinity) and junior
Kobe Norfleet (Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold).
Freshman
AJ Visco (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) made a pair of saves while playing a scoreless 45 minutes in the second half. Junior
Payton Smith (Columbus, Ohio/Lincoln) earned his second start of the year and posted one save in the first half.
The Vulcans finished with a 16-10 shot advantage after tallying 12 shots in the second half. ODU posted an 8-3 edge in corner kicks with six corners over the final 45 minutes.
Cal opens PSAC West play on Saturday, Sept. 17, when it hosts Mercyhurst at 3:30 p.m.