Late goal limits Greenville to 2-2 draw
Greenville, SC (October 1, 2022) – The Greenville Triumph Soccer Club’s quest to clinch a fourth consecutive playoff berth will continue for another week after a late conceded goal allowed FC Tucson to come back to hold Greenville to a 2-2 draw at Legacy Early College on Saturday night. The draw ran Greenville’s winless streak to six, though the club remains squarely in contention to earn a playoff berth and a home playoff match.
Finally, back on their own turf after the longest road trip of the season, the Greenville Triumph jump-started the match flanking Tucson in the first 20 minutes. However, Greenville failed to capitalize off their attack and a chancy Tucson cross in front of the net ricocheted off Greenville’s Brandon Fricke for an own goal, putting Tucson up 1-0. Undeterred by the score change, Greenville remained consistent and continued to test the Tucson defense. In the 36th minute, Greenville finally struck gold when rookie Alex Cox-Ashwood floated a bobbled ball over the head of Carlos Merancio for a Greenville equalizer. Both teams played out the remaining ten minutes and headed into the break even, 1-1.
Greenville, still fresh off Cox-Ashwood’s goal, returned to the field on their toes, itching to take the lead and claim a spot in the playoffs. Chances from both Tucson and Greenville threatened to sway the score, but the back of the net eluded them. Midway through the half, Greenville’s Venton Evans broke the deadlock in the 75th minute, dribbling from midfield and taking the shot himself to put Greenville in the lead, 2-1. Again though, Greenville failed to close the match out, allowing Tucson to turn the tables and take advantage of a late corner to score in the 89th minute. The match ended even at 2-2, leaving the Triumph on the precipice of a playoff berth for another week. The club can still clinch this weekend if Central Valley Fuego falls to Northern Colorado in a match set to kick off at 10:30p EST on Saturday.
The Triumph will look to snap the streak next Saturday in the club’s regular season home finale, facing off against the Charlotte Independence at 7:00 PM. Greenville will wrap the regular season in Richmond on October 15th.
