CLAREMORE, Okla. - Rogers State jumped out to an early lead then held on for a 2-2 tie in the conference opener vs. Oklahoma Christian on Tuesday at Soldier Field.
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Hillcat freshman Chris Roberts scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the match to give RSU a 2-0 lead. Roberts found the back of the net on a feed from Brett Jones just 88 seconds into the contest. He added his second goal on a header off a corner kick from Kirk Madsen and the Hillcats led 2-0 at the break.
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The Eagles finally got on the scoreboard thanks to a penalty kick goal by Cristian Fernandes with 32:35 remaining in the first half. Pablo Hernandez tied the game at 2-2 with 3:42 to play as Oklahoma Christian was able to wear down the RSU defense in the second half. RSU goal keeper Sean Surridge tallied a season-high 17 saves on the night, including 12 in the second half.
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The two teams battled through two scoreless overtimes before settling for a tie.
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Coach Derek Larkin's Hillcats stand at 2-1-1 on the season. Oklahoma Christian ran its record to 1-1-2. The Hillcats will travel to John Brown on Saturday for their second conference match of the year. The match is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
