Clarksville, Ark. - The Eagles opened American Southwest Conference play with a 0-0 tie against UT-Dallas on Saturday at Hurie Field.
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Both teams displayed a great defensive effort, but it was Ozarks goalkeeper Brian Sarber that single-handily gave Ozarks (5-0-2, 0-0-1) their fourth shutout of the season. Ozarks did have a couple of quality shots in the first half, the first coming from a Dylan Evans’ header in the 20th minute that sailed just wide. Matt Engelman blasted a shot in the 29th minute that forced the UT-Dallas goalie to make a nice stop. With 1:13 left in the first half, Sarber came through with the biggest play of the match. UT-Dallas (2-3-1, 0-0-1) was awarded a penalty kick. Sarber fought off Stephen Ambrose’s PK shot by making a diving save to his right and keeping the score at 0-0. Sarber totaled six saves in the first half.
The match remained a battle as neither team could get one past the keeper. Sarber made another big save in the 87th minute, robbing Comet forward Jess Mitchell of a goal, and forcing the match into overtime.
UT-Dallas held a 20-12 shots advantage. Engelman and Evans each had four shots apiece.
Sarber finished with a season and career-high 14 saves.
Ozarks will host Mississippi College September 25 at 4:00 pm. The match can be heard on the web at www.kxio.nu.
Game notes:
-Ozarks played in their third straight overtime match, and the second double-overtime tie in the last three matches.
-The Eagles have played in 17 overtime matches since 2004 and have posted a 6-4-7 record during that span.
-Ozarks is 6-1-3 in ASC openers under head coach Dave De Hart.
-Ozarks all-time record against UT-Dallas is 2-9-2.
-The Eagles have posted four shutouts in their first seven matches, second –most since the 2002 team had five shutouts in their first seven tries.
Topics: Athletics