COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Less than 24 hours after it left the field in Pueblo, Colo., the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team returned to action and battled host University of Colorado Colorado Springs to a 0-0 double-overtime draw on Sunday afternoon at Mountain Lion Stadium.
 
Yellowjacket goalkeeper Georgios Theodoulidis highlighted the well-played defensive performance, making seven official saves and commanding all facets of the goal box in a match where MSUB found itself under constant pressure. MSUB played the final 40 minutes of the match down a man, after senior captain Luca Battistotti was issued a second yellow card in the 70th minute.
 
"It was an unbelievable team performance today," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "We had to fight through a lot of adversity, and the guys brought it. We definitely felt a defensive sacrifice for each other, hard work, and effort, and those are the values of our team. Despite being a man down, we fought until the end."
 
With 2:30 left on the clock in regulation, Theodoulidis had one of his most important saves as he laid out to tip a long ball into the box over the end line and away from danger. The play resulted in one of the Mountain Lions' 12 corner kicks throughout the match, but the back line held strong and won the majority of its aerial battles to keep the hosts out of the net.
 
"Georgios was very solid in the air, we knew UCCS had a lot of size, especially with their forwards," said Chameraud. "Every free kick they put it in the box, and Georgios was absolutely fantastic in the air. The back line as well fought really hard in those air challenges. Overall it was a great team performance to keep that clean sheet."
 
UCCS (1-0-1) out-shot MSUB 26-7 during the 110-minute affair, but placed less than 1/3 of its attempts on frame as the 'Jackets managed to weather the storm.
 
Although MSUB's opportunities were few and far between, the 'Jackets didn't go without chances to get on the scoreboard. One of the most promising looks came with just four minutes left in overtime when a shot by Marvin Putu was cleared off the back line by the Mountain Lions' final defender. An ensuing foul led to a free kick for the 'Jackets from 30 yards out on the right side of the field, but Putu's strike carried over the crossbar.
 
The match got off to a fast-paced start, with the Mountain Lions attacking immediately and the ball moving quickly throughout the field. Theodoulidis made a strong save just two minutes into the match, knocking away a powerful shot from Kolby Raineri inside the box.
 
It was the first of a team-high six shots for Raineri, and he placed three of them on frame. Adin Schwenke had five shot attempts while Luke Sussex added three throughout the Mountain Lions' barrage.
 
With 13 minutes left in the match, the Yellowjackets nearly broke through when Halil Yilmaz found the ball on his foot inside the box. He drilled a powerful shot towards the back of the net, but UCCS goalkeeper Andreas Kokoska made a stellar diving save to push the ball away. Yilmaz had another good look at goal with four minutes left in regulation, but his left-footed strike carried just wide of the post.
 
Putu and Yilmaz accounted for five of MSUB's seven shots and all three of the team's on-target strikes in a match that was inherently defensive. Bryan Maxwell and Pascal Pisarek each played the full 110 minutes, while Brad Lowes had a strong 90-minute effort and Paul Cuevas was a major defensive contributor in 85 good minutes coming off the bench.
 
"There is still a lot of work to do, but we have to give a lot of credit to our team today," Chameraud said. "Playing 110 minutes and our second overtime game and three games in four days – I'm out of words for the team's effort today."
 
THE BUZZ: Theodoulidis was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 1-9-2 all-time against UCCS and is 0-6-2 in road matches…it was MSUB's second overtime game of the season, after Thursday's 3-2 victory over Texas A&M International…Pisarek's 110 minutes played were the most of his career, and it was the third time Maxwell has gone the distance in a double-overtime stalemate.
 
COMING UP: The Yellowjackets have two more matches next weekend, playing both Colorado Mesa University and Westminster College in Nampa, Idaho on the campus of Northwest Nazarene University. Live coverage for next week's games can be found online here.