CARY, N.C. - The William Peace University men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 tie against USA South regular-season champion North Carolina Wesleyan University Wednesday night at WakeMed Soccer Park. A last-minute equalizer from Tambe Mboumien helped the Pacers secure the No. 3 seed and home-field advantage for the opening round of the USA South Tournament.
The Pacers close out the regular season at 8-6-3 overall and 3-2-2 in conference play, earning 11 points in the USA South standings.
N.C. Wesleyan controlled much of the possession throughout the opening half, outshooting Peace 9-0. Freshman goalkeeper Dallas Story made two saves to keep the Battling Bishops off the board, sending the teams into halftime scoreless.
Peace found more opportunities offensively in the second half, recording all six of its shots after the break. Zach Marlier put an attempt on frame in the 54th minute, while Topher Johnson forced a save from N.C. Wesleyan goalkeeper Elliot Helander in the 81st.
After nearly 85 minutes of scoreless play, N.C. Wesleyan broke through when Riccardo Baisi found the back of the net off an assist from Mikkel Christensen, giving the Battling Bishops a 1-0 advantage with just over five minutes remaining.
The Pacers continued to push forward and found their moment in the final minute. Ehmular Hser sent a cross into the box, where Gabriel Faria Jr. redirected the ball to Mboumien, who finished the play to even the score at 1-1 with just 35 seconds remaining.
Story finished with five saves as Peace held the conference's top-seeded team to a draw. N.C. Wesleyan held a 16-6 advantage in shots, but the Pacers made their late opportunity count to close out the regular season on a strong note.
With the draw, Peace secured the No. 3 seed in the USA South Tournament after winning the head-to-head tiebreaker against Pfeiffer and Methodist. The Pacers will host No. 6 Greensboro College on Saturday, Oct. 31, at WakeMed Soccer Park in the opening round. The matchup gives Peace another opportunity against the Pride after falling 4-2 in their regular-season meeting on Oct. 18.
