Storm relinquish 2-0 lead, settle for tie with Wartburg

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Mark Lahart had two assists and the Simpson men's soccer team snapped a 10-game losing streak against Wartburg with a 2-2 tie Thursday night.

Lahart and the Storm (8-4-1, 1-0-1 Iowa Conference) had visions of breaking the streak with a win after getting out to a 2-0 lead, but Wartburg came back late in the second half to force extra time.

"Obviously we're disappointed we let a two-goal lead slip away late in the game," head coach Rick Isaacson said. "We made a couple of crucial mistakes when Wartburg was pressing. Those mistakes can mostly be attributed to youth, but we've also got to play smarter with a lead."

Just seconds after Simpson scored its second goal of the game, Zubeen Azari put the Knights (3-5-2, 0-1-1) back in contention after Dan Nadeau found the freshman from five yards out.

Chris Nothnick completed the comeback at the 79:47 mark, making a run down the right side before sneaking an offering past keeper Luke Aronow.

"Our goal entering the match was to come away with three points, but a draw is better than a loss and this game could have gone either way," Isaacson said. "There was no quit in either team tonight."

Simpson controlled play early in the game and the work paid off when Jeremy Reinert became the first recipient of a Lahart serve. In one of Simpson's six, first-half corner kick opportunities, Lahart went to Reinert on the near-post, who hammered the offering into the net for a 1-0 lead at the 23:44 mark.

Lahart helped make it 2-0 in the 70^th minute when he found Mitchell White on the far post with a cross from the right wing.

Both teams traded opportunities in extra time, with Simpson owning a slight 6-5 edge in shots.

The Storm's best chance came just 42 seconds into the second overtime, when Lahart set up on the right wing. Just as he squared up for the second goal of the game, Lahart served up a cross to the far post where White was waiting.

The 6-1 White won the ball in the air, but his shot sailed high of the crossbar.

Aronow made eight saves between the posts for the Storm, whose last win over Wartburg came in 2002.

Simpson travels to Dubuque on Saturday for a key matchup with the University of Dubuque (8-3, 2-0). Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.