Twice on Tuesday, the San Bernardino Valley College men's soccer team found itself down to Chaffey in the first Inland Empire Athletic Conference meeting between the two former Foothill Conference rivals.
And twice, the Wolverines' offense pushed forward and drew fouls against the Panthers inside the penalty box, leading to a pair of penalty kick goals that helped SBVC earn a 2-2 tie with Chaffey in a battle of two teams in the state's top 20.
The Panthers took the lead in the 12th minute against the run of play. Chaffey ran back on a counterattack, and Daniel Alvarado fed the ball to Ivan Diaz about 40 yards from goal. Diaz stepped into a shot that sailed in to the upper left corner that SBVC goalkeeper Luis Hernandez had no chance on, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
SBVC answered back with its first penalty of the day. Chaffey was whistled for the foul off a push on an SBVC corner kick in the 20th minute. Hector Alba stepped up and fired into the left side of the net to tie the game.
Chaffey took the lead again late in the first half, again on the counterattack. In the 41st minute, Christopher Briseno crossed the ball across the SBVC defense at the top of the penalty area, where Carlos Benito-Hernan settled the ball on a bounce and volleyed the ball past Hernandez for the 2-1 lead.
The Wolverines had chances to take the lead or tie the game during the run of play throughout the game. Kevin Sutton mishit a volley attempt alone in front that softly floated to goalkeeper Daniel Navarro's hands midway through the first half. Then, with time running out in the first half, Valente Gutierrez got a pass inside the penalty area around Navarro, but he hooked his shot wide left.
Christian Uruttia converted the Wolverines' second penalty kick in the 64th minute to tie the game.
In all, the Wolverines fired 19 shots toward the Chaffey goal, with Navarro making seven saves. Hernandez made five saves for the Wolverines.