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On their home field and underneath the lights, Pequannock salvaged a tie with a late goal in injury time to avoid a soccer defeat at the hands of DePaul. Tyler Yankovich's late goal off a free kick, set up by a foul just outside the box, evened the score at 3-3 and gave the Panthers something to be excited about.
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In a seesaw soccer match that saw 3 lead changes, both teams played hard and deserved to walk away with a point each. DePaul opened up the scoring on a left footed shot by forward Richard Haggerty that trickled through the goalie's legs. In addition to making many dangerous runs, Haggerty showed off his lengthy throw-in which presented trouble for the Panthers' defense and goalkeeper all night.
Pequannock responded to the initial tally. The Panthers tied the sports game at 1-1 after a Brian O'Hara pass led to a header by Dave Happe. After halftime, Pequannock's Sal DeVito put a dangerous throw-in in front which deflected off the goalie's fingertips to make it 2-1.
Not long after, the Spartans came storming back to score 2 consecutive goals in a 5 minute span. Both goals were a result of constant pressure in the penalty area and a resilient effort to put the ball away.
With their hopes dwindling and time against them, Pequannock struggled mightily to keep the ball out of their end. They pushed forward and caught a break with a minute left as the DePaul keeper came out to make a save and fouled DeVito just outside the box. With only a wall of players in his way, Yankovich shot a rocket into the top corner which led to a frenzy of Panthers players.
Both teams played conservatively in overtime without creating many opportunities.
Based on the bumpy ride of the soccer game, both coaches were happy to walk away with some sort of a result. "When we got down they fought back extremely well," said Pequannock's Carl Strong. "I was very happy and encouraged for them."
"It was a hard-fought game, it was very physical," said DePaul coach Steve Beneventine. "The boys played hard. I was proud of them." -- Emir Liguori for Jersey Sports Now
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