Marlow-Jones’ Late Equalizer Secures 2-2 Draw for Wildcats

BALDWIN CITY - Reilly Marlow-Jones came through with a game-tying goal in the final five minutes to help (RV) Baker earn a 2-2 draw against Mount Mercy on Saturday night at Hartley Field.

Akira Itadani scored in the game's first 10 minutes to give the Wildcats a quick 1-0 lead before the Mustangs tied it just 10 minutes later. The scoreboard remained tied until the 78th minute when MMU looked to steal the game with a late goal, but Marlow-Jones' equalizer in the 85th secured Baker's first draw of the 2024 season.

Mount Mercy held a 15-11 advantage with eight of them coming in the second half where MMU played the final 20 minutes down a man due to a red card in the 70th minute. The two teams each had six corner kicks in the match with BU earning five in the second half.

Marlow-Jones orchestrated the action that led to Itadani's game-opening goal with the BU forward knifing his way through the MMU defense before laying a ball back to Itadani, who stuck his shot in the upper 90 to put Baker on top, 1-0.

It was the fourth goal of the year for Itadani whose only other goal against a Heart team came in the first 15 minutes of Baker's 2-0 win against Culver-Stockton in September.

The Mustangs responded in the 20th minute with a header that ricocheted off of the crossbar and into the back of the net to bring the match to its first tie at 1-1.

The match played to a standstill through the rest of the first half and for over half of the second period before an MMU red card added a late wrinkle to give the Wildcats a man advantage for the final push of the game.

However, it was the Mustangs who rallied first and scored a goal in the 78th minute to take a 2-1 lead with just over 10 minutes left to play.

It was a long-range shot from Falco Dijkhuis that sparked the game-tying goal for BU as he found himself with an open lane on a Wildcats corner kick. Dijkhuis' missile was saved by the MMU keeper, but deflected out and eventually made it to the foot of Marlow-Jones, who whipped in a curling shot from just inside the box to tie the match at 2-2.

For Marlow-Jones, it was his team-leading ninth goal of the fall and, with his assist to Itadani, his fourth match this year where he has tallied at least three points. The freshman from Wellington, New Zealand has scored a goal in five of his last six matches.

With wins in six of their first seven home contests, the Wildcats moved to a 6-1-1 record in matches at Hartley Field this season with their only setback coming against No. 22 Central Methodist.

Up next, Baker will head to Graceland on Saturday, Oct. 19 to take on the Yellowjackets with a 7 p.m. kickoff in Lamoni, Iowa.

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