After 85 minutes of possession exchanges with limited scoring threats, Centre and Nebraska Wesleyan engaged in a thrilling final 5 minutes in the 36th Annual Bob Allen Nissan Classic.
Beckett Bond came to the Colonels' rescue in the final 30 seconds with a tying goal that salvaged the day and avoided a late heartbreak in a 1-1 tie.
The game was moved to Saturday morning after severe weather on Friday night in Danville forced a postponement.
AJ Daniels had the first viable scoring chance of the game for the Colonels in the 6th minute but was denied. The result was the same for
Finnegan Deem-Ranzetta in the 18th minute. Both offenses were quiet the remainder of the first half. Centre's defense held the Prairie Wolves without a shot until the 40th minute as the game went scoreless into halftime.
Scoring threats continued to remain scarce as the 2nd half progressed. NWU finally broke through inside the box in the 87th minute to break the tie. While the Prairie Wolves celebrated what they believed to be a sure victory, Centre went back to work and pressed forward. With less than 30 seconds to play, a ball into the NWU box found itself on the foot of
Beckett Bond, who was able to tap it home to tie the game and deny NWU the outright result.
The teams combined for just 6 shots on goal. Centre had a 5-1 edge in corners.
The 36th Annual Bob Allen Classic concludes on Sunday at Amend Field. Nebraska Wesleyan will take on Spalding at noon. Centre battles Maryville starting at 2:15pm.
