Boys Soccer: Late goals help Sabres forge tie with Cards

SARTELL - The Willmar boys soccer team took control of its match against Sartell in the second half, but the Cardinals let off the gas and the Sabres tallied twice late to forge a 3-3 tie on Saturday.
The teams were tied 1-1 at halftime, but Sakawe Shadoor and David Gomez scored goals in the first 28 minutes of the second half for a 3-1 advantage.
But, playing a man short due to a red card, Sartell’s Kempton Schneider scored in the 70th minute, and Connor Kalthoff scored with about two minutes remaining to gain the tie. Both teams had chances in overtime but didn’t convert.
“This was not about conditioning,” said Willmar head coach Jeff Winter. “Sartell was the more tired team. It was us not continuing to push to score when we had the two-goal lead.”
Gomez played a strong game. He assisted on Fernando Zevala’s first-half goal, and he also assisted on Shadoor’s second half score.
Kunil Ismail assisted on Gomez’ goal, which came at an almost impossible angle about two feet from the endline. He hit the bottom of the crossbar just inside the far post, Winter said.
“David Gomez had a great game,” Winter said. “He was a factor in all of our scoring and created many other close opportunities.”
Both teams had chances, with Sartell hitting a post early in the game and Willmar hitting a shot off the crossbar and off a post late in the game. Willmar goalie Manny Obregon made a key save late to keep the score 3-3 late in regulation, Winter said.
The Cardinals play host to Sauk Rapids at 5 p.m. today at Kennedy Field. Sartell defeated the Storm 5-0 on Sept. 3.
Willmar 3, Sartell 3
Willmar (2-1-1) 1 2 0 - 3
Sartell (1-1-2) 1 2 0 - 3
FIRST HALF – S: Sartell Cullen Chisholm 17th minute ... W: Fernando Zevala (David Gomez) 25th minute
SECOND HALF – W: Sakawe Shadoor (Gomez) 52nd minute ... W: Gomez (Kunil Ismail) 68th minute ... S: Kempton Schneider (JP Schlecht) 70th minute ... S: Connor Kalthoff 77th minute
OVERTIME – No scoring
SHOTS ON GOAL – NA
GOALIE SAVES – Willmar: NA … Sartell: NA ... DEFENSIVE SAVES – NA