South Knox and Evansville Mater Dei had less than 20 minutes left to settle things Wednesday night. Mother Nature had other plans. In a game that already had plenty of twists and turns, the Spartans and Wildcats battled to a 2-2 draw before a wall of lightning rolled into the area and forced the match to be suspended — and ultimately called — with 17:30 remaining on the clock. Mater Dei struck first just five minutes in when a South Knox clearance deflected off a Wildcat player and found its way back toward goal and into the net, giving the visitors a 1-0 advantage. The Spartans, however, weren’t about to let their opponents get comfortable. With 27:13 remaining in the first half, Joseph Ellerman stepped up to take a free kick from deep inside his own half and delivered a long ball that had just enough bite to bounce over the Mater Dei goalkeeper, off his fingertips, and into the back of the net, locking the game up at 1-1. And then, with just eight seconds remaining before halftime, the Spartans struck again. Reece Yoder headed a ball down to Levi Loudermilk, who took one touch and sent an absolute rocket into the left side of the goal, giving the Mater Dei keeper no chance and sending South Knox into the break with a 2-1 lead. With South Knox controlling the tempo and time ticking down, Mater Dei managed to squeeze in the equalizer off a long cross as the clock stopped with 17:30 showing and lightning danced around the area. Before the game could even restart, flashes began lighting up the sky in every direction and the threat became too close for comfort. The referee suspended play and, ultimately, the decision was made to call the match, leaving the teams locked at 2-2. Coach’s comments: “I thought our guys showed a lot of fight. We gave up an early goal, and once again fought back to take a lead into halftime. We made some minor adjustments after the last game and created some good opportunities tonight; I thought we did a much better job connecting the midfield with our forwards. Obviously, nobody wants a game to end the way this one did and we would have loved the opportunity to finish it. But, when lightning is popping all around you, safety has to come first. We have plenty of positives to take away from tonight and carry into the Rivet match next Tuesday." South Knox goalkeeper Mac Harmon recorded four saves as the Spartans move to 1-1-2 on the season. Next up is a cross-town trip to Rivet on Tuesday for a Blue Chip Conference matchup with the Patriots. The game is scheduled to kick off at 5:00pm.