MOC and Methodist play to draw

Published in Sports on October 12, 2004 1:55 PM

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FAYETTEVILLE -- Cory Worrell tied the match with his school-record 19th goal of the season as regionally fifth-ranked Mount Olive and Methodist played to a 1-1 tie in non-conference men's soccer Monday afternoon.

The tie snapped the Trojans' three-match winning streak, but extended their unbeaten streak to four.

Mount Olive (11-2-1) withstood six first-half corner kicks to keep the game scoreless until the 43rd minute when Michael Davis scored on a breakaway to give Methodist (7-4-1) a 1-0 lead at halftime. Methodist outshot the Trojans 9-7 in the first half.

The Trojans tied the match five minutes into the second half when Charles Williams' shot deflected off the goalkeeper and Worrell put home the record-breaker. Worrell entered the match tied with Matt Dudley for most goals scored in a season by a Mount Olive men's soccer player. Dudley scored 18 goals in 1996. recorded the assist on the goal.

The match turned into a foul fest as the two teams combined for 25 fouls and seven yellow cards in the second half alone. Both teams played the final 41 minutes of the match a man down after each team lost a player to a red card at the 59:07 mark. For the match, Mount Olive was whistled for 27 fouls, while Methodist had 21 fouls. Five Trojans and three Methodist players received yellow cards in the contest.

Late in the first overtime, the Trojans thought they had the game won when Williams' direct kick from 35 yards out deflected off the keeper into the goal, but the celebration was short-lived after the goal was waved off for a foul called against Mount Olive. The Trojans had only one shot in overtime, while Methodist had two shots in the overtime periods. Methodist outshot Mount Olive 12-11 for the match.

After playing in five ties last season, Monday's match was the Trojans' first tie of 2004. Mount Olive, ranked No. 5 in the NSCAA/Adidas Division II southeast region, is 0-1-1 in overtime matches this season.

The tie ended Methodist's five-match winning streak, but extended the Monarchs' unbeaten streak to six. Methodist, ranked No. 10 in the Division III South Region, defeated Division II southeast region top-ranked UNC Pembroke 4-1 three weeks ago.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday in a non-conference match at Division III Chowan College. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.