For TMU’s men’s soccer team, the circumstances may have been different, but the result with Merced was the same: a tie.

On Friday, Master’s surrendered a two-goal, second-half lead and wound up tying Embry-Riddle Aeronautical.

Less than 24 hours later, the Mustangs scored in the second stanza to tie UC Merced in a match that went through two overtimes before ending in a 1-1 tie.

“It’s never fun to tie,” said TMU head coach Jim Rickard. “But, I was very proud of the team today. \We competed well on both sides of the ball, connecting a lot of combinations while defending with tenacity.”

The Bobcats struck first and early. Sixty-four seconds into the match, Bobcat Juan Flores beat Mustang goalie David Quijano Serna on a free kick for a 1-0 lead.

That deficit was challenged only once in the first half when TMU’s Luis Garcia Sosa shot one that was saved by Bobcat keeper Brycen Miller at the 34:25 mark.

TMU had another opportunity to knot the game, this time 6:51 into the second half when sophomore forward Codi Truckenbrodt put a shot on goal. However, Miller made the save to preserve the Bobcat lead.

The Mustangs didn’t threaten again for over 20 minutes. This time it turned into more than a threat and Miller couldn’t do anything about it.

With 16:48 left in regulation, junior forward Carlos Moreno stole the ball and shot it off Miller’s glove into the right corner of the net to knot the match.

It was Moreno’s first career goal.

The Mustangs had three chances to win the game in regulation but two Dylan Bielanski shots, one off a header with three minutes left, and one by Garcia Sosa were saved by Miller.

In the first 10-minute overtime, neither club put a shot on goal.

Garcia Sosa had a chance for a golden goal in the second extra period but his shot at 104:33 was saved by Miller.

The Mustangs wound up outshooting the Bobcats 13-11.

Rickard was encouraged with his team’s effort, saying, “UC Merced is a high-quality team, so we took a large step forward.”

Here’s the box score.

That step comes next Saturday when TMU (0-0-2) hosts No. 18 Kansas Wesleyan in its home-opener.

Kick-off is set for 1:30 p.m. on TMU’s Reese Field.

— Game Recap By Don Gilmore, TMU Sports Information Director