LACEY, Wash. – Regis and Saint Martin's traded blow for blow in the 2019 season opener, with Jose Marquez and Sebastian Navarro stepping up with goals of their own to force a 2-2 draw.
 
After a Regis first half goal, a second yellow card forced Regis to play the final 62 minutes down a man. The Saints capitalized on that opportunity scoring their first goal just 15 seconds after the ejection. Regis struck back with a goal of their own just a minute later before Navarro scored the equalizer in the 76th minute to knot the score at 2-2.
 
The first shot of the game did not come until the 26th minute, but the action closely followed suit. Regis' Kristian Hooker scored the first goal of 2019 on a ball from the middle of the box to the left post. The Rangers outshot the Saints 8-2 in the first half, with goalie Dylan Shaw making two saves. Jason Fairhurst recorded both shots for SMU; however, missing wide on each.
 
Second half action did not wait long to begin, with two yellow cards, an ejection, and two goals being marked in the opening four minutes. Jose Marquez tied the game at 1-1 after a deflection came straight to him in the box, lifting the ball over the goalie to the back of the net.
 
Despite being down a man, and just being scored on, the Rangers quickly answered, retaking the lead with a goal in the 49th minute. Each side took shot after shot looking for either a decisive blow or an equalizing goal. The answer came in the 76th minute, when Cayman John's cross found Navarro in the middle of the box, who's strike found the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2.
 
Each side had opportunities to close out a victory in the final moments of regular time and the first overtime period, but neither could find the finishing touch. In the second overtime, with the clock in the final seconds of the match, Regis nearly found the golden goal. Off of a throw in, the Saints' header to clear the ball from the middle of the box ricocheted off the crossbar, right to an open Regis player. The shot hit the back of the net; however, the clock expired just before the shot could count, ending the match in a 2-2 draw.
 
"First and foremost, it was great having Regis on campus to play," said head coach Rob Walker. "They had some moving parts that really presented challenges to us and their effort playing a man down for a great portion of the 2nd half and playing well is a testament to their quality. As we review our performance, there are going to be some moments we like and some moments we want to change and improve. This is a process and its part of a team mentality. Many of our guys had good moments today, but we also got into some situations that we will want to review and change the next time around. We will look to bring some rested players into Saturday's game which should help bare the load from today."
 
The Saints continue their homestand with a match on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. against Adams State. Live stats and video of the match can be found on smusaints.com.