TENNERTON – The Buckhannon-Upshur soccer Bucs and the Bridgeport Indians played to a physical 1-1 tie in Big 10 Conference action Tuesday night at the high school.
“Tonight, was about what we expected out of a B-U/Bridgeport match: tough, physical, and well played between both teams,” noted Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Mike Donato.
The Bucs managed to get on the scoreboard first when Riel Figueroa dribbled past two defenders and scored with a shot to the back post in the 30th minute.
The game remained at 1-0 until Bridgeport scored in the 50th minute when Jackson Cogar scored on a penalty kick.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the final 30 minutes of action.
“Our young players really stepped up big,” stated Donato. “Once they got a feel for how physical the game was, they stepped up to the challenge. We scored a great goal in the first half and were able to carry out that momentum to finish the half strong. Second half we got hit with some injuries that slowed our momentum a bit and gave Bridgeport some chances.”
The Bucs trailed in shots-on-goals by an 11-4 margin and in corner kicks by an 11-1 spread.
Buckhannon-Upshur was guilty of three fouls while Bridgeport was called for four including a yellow card.
B-U keeper Slaton Kowalkoski made 10 saves while Bridgeport goalie Andrew Dumas made three stops.
The tie left Bridgeport with a 9-5-3 mark and the Bucs with a 5-9-3 record.
The Bucs will be back on the pitch Thursday in another conference clash at Lewis County.
The game will start at 7:30 p.m.
The boxscore:
Bridgeport 0 1 – 1
Buckhannon-Upshur 1 0 – 1
(Scoring)
Buckhannon-Upshur – Riel Figueroa (unassisted), 30th minute.
Bridgeport – Jackson Cogar (penalty kick), 50th minute.
Shots-on-goal – Bridgeport: 11; Buckhannon-Upshur: 4.
Corner kicks – Bridgeport: 11; Buckhannon-Upshur: 1.
Fouls – Bridgeport: 4; Buckhannon-Upshur: 3.
Saves – Bridgeport: Andrew Dumas 3; Buckhannon-Upshur: Slaton Kowalkoski 10.