Bruins settle for draw against No. 5 Hastings

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Toby Millward scored on a set piece to help the Bellevue University men's soccer team to a 1-1 double-overtime draw against No. 5 Hastings College on Wednesday evening at Faiman Field on the campus of Bellevue West High School.

Records:

Bellevue: 7-7-2
#5 Hastings: 10-0-2

Recap: Bellevue 1, #5 Hastings 1 (2OT)

Toby Millward and Dan Wheeler scored second half goals for Bellevue and Hastings, respectively, as the intra-state rivals battled to a 1-1 double-overtime draw on Wednesday evening.

Chances were minimal over the early portion of the first half while Hastings held the majority of the early possession.

Bellevue found their bearings as the first half wore on and by halftime the host side held a 6-3 advantage in shots over Hastings to go along with a 4-0 edge in corner kicks. Despite the greater scoring opportunities, BU was unable to find the back of the net and the game remained scoreless at the intermission.

Toby Millward put Bellevue on the scoresheet in the 66^th minute. After taking a tumble on a reckless tackle, Millward won a free kick for the Bruins about 30 yards from goal. He blasted a perfectly struck shot inside the far post and outside the reach of Hastings keeper Jesus Parra for a 1-0 lead.

Dan Wheeler pulled the Broncos level in the 76^th minute. Bruin goalkeeper AJ Jarvis came off his line to meet a bounding ball outside the penalty area but shanked his clearance attempt as Wheeler came away with the mishit ball and tucked it away into the vacant net.

The best chance the rest of the way came from Will Pointon who, in the 81^st minute, ripped off a shot off from 25 yards that Jarvis did well to turn away.

From there, the game advanced to overtime. BU recorded the lone shot in the first overtime period but had more numerous chances in the second overtime period.

Twice, within 90 seconds, Millward had free kick chances in an area near where he scored from but both times Parra made diving saves as Bellevue had to settle for a draw.

The final stats saw Bellevue total 14 shots to Hastings' 10 with each team putting five attempts on target. The Bruins dominated the corner kick opportunities, earning nine to the Broncos' one.

Both Parra and Jarvis made four saves in net for their sides.

Coach Mark Heath-Preston:

"It was a good performance against a good team. We are disappointed to not come away with a win as we felt we had the best chances. The performance is what we have focused on throughout the last few weeks so we continue to improve and become better. Thank you to the crowd that came out to support us tonight."

Up Next:

Bellevue travels to Forest City, Iowa on Thursday, Oct. 24 for a 7 p.m. game against Waldorf University from Bolstorff Field.