Wed., Oct. 15, 2008

   FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- After building a 3-0 lead in the first half, the University of Saint Francis had to fight off a swarming Marian College attack to salvage a 3-all tie on Wednesday afternoon.
  On dry, firm footing, the Cougars superior speed and aggressive play helped forge a 3-0 lead on two goals by Ryan Crawford and one by Matt Besessen. With about 15 minutes to play in the first half, it started raining and MC got a goal. The Knights, who came into the match 0-5 in Mid-Central College Conference play, scored twice in a five minute span to knot the match at 3 in a driving rain that drove all but the hardiest fans to shelter.
  Gabriel Peters got MC on the board at 40:16. Benton Schafer tallied at 57:51 and Troy Lock finished off a Knights surge in the box at 60:53.
  Throughout the rest of regulation and overtime, both teams battled furiously slipping and sliding through standing water and mud attempting to get the decisive goal.
   Crawford scored at 21:18 and again at 36:07. Bessesen scored at 37:01 to finish the Cougars offensive fireworks.
   USF (3-2-1 in MCC play, 10-2-3 overall) resumes play on Saturday at 4 p.m. with a match against Huntington University at Coonan Field.