BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Fort Hays State men's soccer team wrapped up their west coast trip with a 2-2 draw against Western Washington on Saturday evening (Sept. 16), 2-2. The Tigers move to 0-4-2 on the season with the tie, while the Vikings move to 1-2-2 overall.
 
The Tigers started off slow offensively as they slipped through the Viking defense just once in the first half. On the other hand, Western Washington ended the first half with 12 shots, including four shots on frame. Both teams were held in check throughout the first half as no one found the net in the first 45 minutes of play.
 
The second half started with aggressive play from both teams. A Tiger foul led to a successful penalty kick by Anthony Dean of Western Washington in the 50^th minute. The chippy battle continued as the Tigers fouled Drew Farnsworth in the box that led to another PK just 13 seconds later. Anthony Dean found the net once again to the bottom right of the frame to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead early in the second half.
 
The aggressiveness kept up as the Tigers induced a PK of their own in the 51^st minute, this time from Derick Gonzalez as he found the net to the right side of the frame to cut the deficit to 2-1. The rest of the half consisted of many shots taken by both squads as Fort Hays State rifled off four more, with Gonzalez once again finding the net. The equalizer came in the 76^th minute as Gonzalez dribbled the ball across the top of the box from about 20 yards away to score just inside the far post to give the Tigers life again.
 
The end of regulation came and the Tigers found themselves in their second straight overtime match. This time they were looking for a better result. The first period started off with five straight shots from the Vikings, all of which were not on frame. The Tigers could not get anything through the defense as they headed to a second overtime period. The Tigers dodged four more shots from the Vikings as Michael Yantz made a key save in the final minutes to keep the draw intact.
 
Western Washington ended the match with the most shots against the Tigers in their history as the Vikings rifled off 31 shots, with ten on goal. Yantz was able to save eight of those shots as he was vital in this 2-2 match.
 
The Tigers will be in action again next week on Friday (Sept. 22) as they begin a four game homestand starting with Southwest Baptist. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.