HESSTON, Kan. – The Hesston College men's soccer team played to a 6-6 draw with Pratt Community College on Wednesday (October 9). The Larks and Beavers traded goals down the stretch with the final score of the contest coming in the last minute of play. Tyler Beckford and Alex Radu each recorded hat tricks for the Larks as they combined for all six of Hesston's goals.
Beckford gave Hesston the early lead in the eighth minute as he took a pass from Oscar Becerra down to the corner and sent a long arcing shot over the keeper's head into the net. Pratt tied the match in the 15th minute and scored again soon after to take a 2-1 lead.
Radu netted his first score of the night on a free kick just outside of the box to tie the match. The Beavers took the lead again in the 32nd minute off of a free kick for a short time before a quick pair of goals by Beckford put the Larks back in front. The freshman forward scored his second goal of the night on a through ball from Mauricio Ramirez to tie things up. Ramirez and Beckford connected a little over a minute later as the latter headed in a cross from the former to put the Larks ahead 4-3. The Beavers leveled the match again in the 39th minute on a fast break to send the teams into the break tied 4-4.
The second half was highly competitive as well, with both teams fighting to take the lead. Pratt was the first to break through as they took the lead in the 79th minute, but the Larks responded quickly as Radu fired a shot off of a corner kick from Becerra. Radu went on to put the Larks ahead in the final two minutes with another free kick goal, but the Beavers found the final equalizer less than a minute later to bring the final score to 6-6.
The Larks took 21 shots in the contest placing 10 on target. Luis Jimenez recorded four saves.
Hesston will be back in action on Saturday (October 12) as they travel to Overland Park to take on Johnson County Community College at 5 p.m.
