Chris Blackburn's penalty kick in the 90th minute helped the Nevada Wonders pick up a 2-2 tie against the California Gold on Friday night in front of more than 300 fans at the Carson High soccer field.
In three games this season, Nevada has made it quite obvious it can beat the Pro Select League team. But the Wonders (1-14-2) have only more chance to prove it. The two teams meet again tonight at 7 in Modesto, Calif., in what will be Nevada's last game of its inaugural season.
The Gold (10-5-3) beat the Wonders 4-1 on April 25 and on June 21, despite being outshot 31-18, they escaped Carson City with a 2-1 win. Nevada player/coach Paul Aigbogun knows his team is on the cusp of upsetting one of the top third division pro teams in the country.
"It was a good draw for us against a professional team near the top of their league," said Aigbogun, who played roughly the final 30 minutes of the game on Friday. "I thought we played well considering we've lost some players but the other guys came in and played well."
But California, which is now tied with the Utah Blitzz atop the PSL's Western Region, nearly walked away with another win. In the 38th minute, Kenny Low blasted a shot from 35 yards out that bounced off the crossbar. Martin Sims, though, was there to head in the game's first goal.
The Gold made it 2-0 in the 55th minute after Nkhoma Dabtwiso pulled a nasty move to get to the end line before sending a ball into the box. Tony Bussard, the Gold's leading scorer, got on the end of it and flicked a header off the far post and into the net for what seemed like a comfortable two-goal advantage. But the Wonders' Ian Miller had other ideas.
A minute after Bussard's goal, Miller discovered a loose ball inside California's penalty box and banged a shot past goalie Mark Torguson. Miller had other several other long-range shots in the second half that either barely missed or were saved by Torguson, who made eight saves in the game. However, Torguson was unable to save the Wonders' eventual equalizer in the final minute of regulation.
Substitute Antonio Mora tried to beat California defender Erick Supnet inside the box but made a tough challenge that resulted in Mora being upended. The center referee felt it was a dangerous tackle and red carded Supnet, leaving the Gold with only 10 players and awarding the Wonders with a penalty kick. A bit of theatrics by Mora might have also allowed Nevada to earn its first positive points of the season since a 3-0 win over BYU on May 30. Either way, Blackburn tucked his shot past Torguson to make it 2-2.
Both teams had marginal chances in the two 10-minute overtime periods, but neither team could finish one. And now on the verge of what has turned out to be a difficult season, Aigbogun hopes the Wonders will find a way to finish in their last game of 2003.
"We knew it was going to be hard at first and that the second part of the season would be much better," Aigbogun said. "Now we just need to put together a team that will be more competitive next year. But we still got one game left, you never know what can happen."
Wonders' goalie Hassan Shabazz recorded 10 saves as Nevada outshot California 22-19.