In the midst of a sweltering summer evening in central Illinois, Bradley braved the extreme heat to put on a fast-paced display of soccer against Western Illinois.
With temperatures reaching 90 degrees at kickoff, it appeared that both teams were content with taking the game slow at first.
Neither side produced a shot attempt through the first 20 minutes of action, with the ball primarily staying in the central part of the pitch.
But as the sun began to set, the action started to pick up.
The Leathernecks were the first to strike. Junior goalkeeper Harvey Holland played a ball forward from Western Illinois’ own box, finding the foot of forward Xavier Gagnon, who created space just outside the penalty area and fired a shot past Bradley keeper Marçal Salom Chandre to open the games’ scoring.
The Braves had a chance to regroup immediately though, as the weather meant a water break in the middle of each half.
After winning a corner shortly following the ensuing kickoff, sophomore midfielder Archie Heron crossed the ball into the box looking to find the head of a Bradley player.
Instead, the ball curled towards the goal, striking the back post and bouncing behind the keeper, seemingly crossing the goal line as the Braves screamed for the ruling.
Unfortunately for the Braves, the officials didn’t award the goal on the pitch and went to a video review after a Leathernecks foul halted play.
With no definitive angles to overturn the call, the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled that the decision of no goal stood.
“There’s no doubt that the corner kick was really close,” Bradley head coach Tim Regan said. “The way it hit off the inside of the pole, and it looked like their defender and goalkeeper were moving backward. But ultimately, the referee has a great viewpoint because he could see it clean, and the video review is never going to give a perfect angle.”
However, the Braves still had the free kick they won preceding the review.
Freshman defender Adrian Franks stepped up to take the kick from just a few feet outside the box, and, in an instance of what may be described as ball don’t lie, buried the shot in the back of the net to level the game at one goal a piece.
“I’ve had experience in the past going into the kick and knew what I wanted to do,” Franks said. “I wasn’t surprised; I’ve practiced this a lot, and it’s moments like these where it’s exciting to be able to show it in front of the fans and represent Bradley.”
For Franks, it was the first goal of his collegiate career and signified the improvement the Braves have worked on in set pieces.
“We’ve been talking about improving that part of our game, and Adrian nailed it,” Regan said. “As a defender, you don’t get a ton of opportunities, and sometimes attacking set pieces are going to be the only moments. So for him to take advantage of that, it’s a good moment for him.”
From that stretch of two goals in as many minutes, the game picked up offensively. Each side tried to find a way to break the deadlock ahead of halftime, but neither could get a quality enough chance on net.
That offensive momentum remained throughout much of the second half. The ball lived in each box much more than it did in the previous half. Each team had their share of chances, but neither were able to execute in the final third and get the go-ahead goal.
“I was pleased with the number of clear shooting opportunities we created, and unfortunately, between deflected balls out for corners and just missing the goal, we were off,” Regan said.
“That might be the story of the day – a lot of close.”
The game got scrappy late, and the Leathernecks created the majority of chances to win the game.
A foul just outside of the box with just under two minutes to play resulted in a delay of 10 minutes, as the officials deliberated whether to review if the foul occurred in the box.
After seven minutes of stoppage, the officials finally decided to send the play to a review. Ultimately, the VAR determined it was not a penalty, meaning Western Illinois would resume play with a free kick.
The Leathernecks pushed hard for a winner, including a late chance that curled just over the bar, but Bradley’s defense held firm to escape the heat with a draw.
“It’s really impressive by the team defensively at that moment,” Regan said. “With the amount of time left, there’s very little risk so they can put everybody in the box. Between goalkeeping and everybody doing their job, that’s a really important moment and one that we’re going to see plenty of times when the season continues.”
After a homestand where the Braves picked up some momentum, they have nine days between matches until they travel to Eastern Illinois on Sept. 11.
“It’s about building on good days, and this was a good day,” Franks said. “We had a good day today, we had a good day on Sunday. We’re going to carry that through each training. We’ll have the mentality that we want to continue this, and we’re going to keep going the way we are.”
