The Highlanders were down to 10 men 鈥� with Victoria鈥檚 first-goal scorer Ryan Dhillon red carded at 41 minutes 鈥� and trailing 2-1 with time slipping away. That鈥檚 the time for experienced hands at the helm. And so it was as veterans Blair Sturrock, a former Plymouth Argyle and Swindon Town pro, and Riley O鈥橬eill combined for the equalizer at 86 minutes with Victoria desperately pushing forward.
O鈥橬eill, the former NCAA Kentucky Wildcats star and sa国际传媒 U-20 FIFA World Cup midfielder who played pro in the Finnish Premiership and German second division, won a high jump ball with a header. O鈥橬eill directed the header to the feet of Sturrock, who in turn directed it into the goal.
鈥淭his was a real battle and a character builder,鈥� said Highlanders head coach Dave Dew. 鈥淚t shows we can come back under adversity.鈥�
The score was 1-1 at the half, with Dhillon and Calgary trading goals, before Mitch Bauche made it 2-1 for Foothills FC with a shot that made it inside the near post at 48 minutes.
The Highlanders (2-2-3) had lost both their previous games against Calgary (4-1-1) this season.
The Highlanders are in Redmond to play the Washington Crossfire on Friday and in Seattle to take on MLS-affiliate Sounders U-23 on Sunday.
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