By Datti Jinkiri
After 90 minutes of regular play, Brilla looked to be headed towards three points tonight against the Midland Odessa Sockers. However, things did not go as planned in stoppage time. Nate Coons' equalizer in added time canceled out Oscar Jimenez's opener and rescued a vital point for the Sockers. 1-1 was the final score at Traceway Park.
The first half ended scoreless, but Jimenez was able to begin the scoring early in the second half. In the 48th minute, he latched onto a Sockers' poor pass and drove towards the goal. His shot flew past the outstretched hands of Ross Klabough and into the net for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
However, the equalizer came after intense pressure from the Sockers. Fernando Machado took a hard shot that keeper Brendan Ledgeway parried into the path of Coons. Coons made no mistake and buried the shot into the empty net for the tying goal.
Jimenez led Brilla with three shots. Despite giving up the equalizer, Ledgeway made three saves. It should also be noted that substitutes Buran Huseini and Matt Rogers came into the match and provided a nice spark for Brilla tonight.
After this weekend, Brilla remains in third place in the Mid South Conference. The Sockers are still topping the division, and the Oklahoma City Energy U23 remain in second. The boys in Carolina blue will head to Peachtree City next weekend, then they will be back in Clinton for games on July 9th and July 11th. Brilla's playoff hopes are very slim, but the possibility of the postseason is still there.