MARSHALL — Luis Ulloa’s last-minute free kick goal saved Marshall boys soccer in their 2-1 home win against Loyola Catholic Tuesday night.

With fewer than 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Marshall was awarded a penalty kick after a rough tackle attempt by the Crusaders. Luis Ulloa stepped up to take the kick from just outside the top left corner of the box. With ice in his veins, Ulloa sent the ball bending around the wall and dropped it into the far bottom corner of the goal, sending his teammates into a frenzy. After the clock finally hit triple zeroes, Ulloa’s teammates lifted him up above their shoulders in celebration.

“I was not expecting to win that. I was really expecting to go into overtime,” Marshall head coach Tony Correa said. “I’m just glad that we kept fighting.”

Loyola Catholic’s defensive style of play caused some frustration for the Tigers. The Crusaders rarely aggressively attacked the goal, and rather seemed to just sit back, stack players near the box, and wait for Marshall to make a mistake. While the Crusaders were never able to take a lead this way, it kept them in the game longer than they should have been based on their ability to generate real scoring chances. Head coach Tony Correa said the issues were largely due to his team experimenting with a new formation.

The switch in formation was in attempt to prepare the team to match up against rival Worthington on Thursday, but the Tigers switched back to their regular formation when they struggled to adjust. Going forward, the team intends to stick to their regular own formation and win on their own terms, Correa said.

Another Ulloa free kick resulted in Marshall’s first lead of the game, although it was an assist rather than direct goal here. After Mohammed Ismail was tripped up in the corner, Ulloa sent a cross over the middle to Cesar Guzman-Moreno. Guzman-Moreno fought through traffic to head in the goal halfway through the first half.

Physicality was a key aspect of the game. On one hand, Marshall’s size gave them an advantage on winning the battle for goal kicks. As a result, Loyola Catholic hardly found their way past midfield. On the other hand, the Crusaders were scrappy, and gave the body just as much as they took it. The game finished with the teams combining for three yellow cards and three injured players leaving the field.

Guzman-Moreno was among the injured. Late in the second half, he tweaked his ankle when he got in between his goalie, an opposing attacker, and the ball. Correa noted that Guzman-Moreno has an aggressive style of play but needs to learn when to reign it in. Guzman-Moreno didn’t return to the game but is expected to be healthy enough to suit up for the Tigers’ next game.

The Crusaders tied the game early in the second half after they were granted a close free kick following a Marshall yellow card. The kick curved high and away from the goalkeeper, and despite his best efforts with the diving leap, the ball was just out of Roberto Garcia’s reach.

Both Garcia and Alex Melendez-Gomez spent time in goal today. Garcia finished with seven saves and Melendez-Gomez with two. Both played aggressively in goal and made smart plays on when to come out and charge at opposing strikers. While neither has been awarded the role of full-time starter yet, Correa said that they are both talented goalkeepers.

Marshall (2-1) will try to extend their winning streak to three games when they go on the road to face the Worthington Trojans Thursday at 7 p.m.