Box Score ABILENE, TX (09.24.10) - Freshman
Michael Darrow scored twice, including a one-timer in the game's 62nd minute, that broke a 3-3 tie and put the Comets out front in the American Southwest Conference race after a 4-3 win over Hardin-Simmons Friday.
Darrow, a freshman from Plano, was held to just three shots on the afternoon, but put two of them past HSU keeper Logan Walters to send the Comets out to a 3-0 start in ASC play and a 6-2 record overall. The Cowboys, who had been unbeaten in two ASC starts, fell to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference.
Stormy weather in Abilene almost cancelled the showdown completely as lightening and rain delayed the start for almost two hours. And, just like the weather, both teams had some early fireworks that made it look like the showdown might turn into a shootout.
Mazi Rabiee put UTD on the board just four minutes into the match, but his goal from
Mark Brooks was just the first of four combined scores in the game's first 17 minutes. HSU tied the game up on a Logan Tiffany goal eight minutes after Rabiee and then Isaiah Hicks gave the Cowboys a brief 2-1 lead a minute later.
But Darrow took an assist from
Eric Pekkala on a corner kick to tie the score at the 17:55 mark and it was still tied 2-2 at intermission.
Just 56 seconds into the second half, the Comets went up 3-2 when
Brian Bienhoff found the net on another Pekkala assist and that lead held until Chris Hunter tied the score for HSU 14 minutes later.
Darrow wasted little time in putting the Comets back out front to stay, scoring less than three minutes later at the 62:33 mark, then left it up to the UTD defense to put a stop on the Cowboys. The Comets allowed just one HSU shot the rest of the way while continuing to pelt Walters into making six more saves in the final 28 minutes.
UTD ended with an 18-15 shot advantage, with 13 of those coming after halftime. Walters had to make 8 saves for HSU, but UTD's
Bailey Williams didn't have to handle a ball in the second half.
The University of Texas at Dallas men's soccer team emerged from a battle of unbeaten American Southwest Conference teams Friday, taking over the early conference lead with a 4-3 win over Hardin-Simmons.
BOXSCORE
