BUCKHANNON, West Virginia - As the regular season winds to a close for the Salem Tigers men's soccer program, an opportunity for a big rivalry matchup was on the docket Wednesday night. Salem headed down to Buckhannon for their second matchup with the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats. The Tigers had a tough contest on their hands, and battled it out to a 1-1 draw with the Bobcats. 

In the first half, things got going slowly for both teams as the offensive chances were sparse early on. The Bobcats drew first blood about 20 minutes into the match when a costly Salem mistake gave them a penalty kick opportunity that they made the best of. However, the Tigers quickly responded with a goal of their own off the foot of Felipe Gonzalez Maldonado. From there, the half ended with the pressure mounting on a tight 1-1 ballgame. 

In the second half, the Bobcats came out swinging as they tried to find a crack in the Salem backline to take back the lead. The Tigers were up to the task and held firm for the next 45 minutes worth of Bobcat attacks thanks to solid play from Ahmad Hijaz and Dylan Vaughn. Therefore, the deadlock held for the entirety of the second half, and Salem headed back up Route 20 with a 1-1 draw. 

On the scoresheet, it was the lone goal from Felipe Gonzalez Maldonado that led Salem offensively. In goal, Jason Barrientos racked up a stammering 8 saves in the contest. 

Next up for the Tigers will be the final home contest of the season. Salem will host the Concord Mountain Lions on Sunday, November 3rd at 1:30 PM.