CLEVELAND, Mississippi- The Statesmen of Delta State University were handed a loss on the pitch when the Bucs of Christian Brothers University came to town, 2-1.
The majority of the match proved to be a heavily defensive battle for both the Statesmen and the Bucs. The two teams went back and forth for the first 20 minutes of the match until the referee suspended play and called both teams off the field for a 40-minute lightning delay.
When play continued the score remained at a draw as the first half came to an end. Both teams had great opportunities in the second half to pull ahead but were unsuccessful until the 80th minute. CBU midfielder, Jose Ferraz, broke through down the line and served a ball across the face of the net for Devon Jackson to finish and slot the ball past a diving
Jonathan Hilton.
Delta State answered less than five minutes later when
Amine Rahmani took a corner. His cross in got deflected by a Bucs defender but was headed in for the equalizer by
Andrew Aur.
The scoring concluded late in the 84th minute when a penalty kick was awarded in CBU's favor. Jose Ferraz stepped up for the Bucs and laced the ball in the side netting to convert the penalty. His goal put CBU up 2-1, which held up to the end whistle.
Delta State was outshot, 19-6. CBU held the slight advantage in shots on frame, 5-4. Hilton tallied three saves as well as his counterpart, Britton McGuire.
The Green-and-White will hit the pitch again this Sunday, Oct. 12 at 3:30 p.m. as they take on Gulf South Conference opponent, Union University.
