Just when it felt like Mason City was going to run away with another one, the Marshalltown girls’ soccer team made its stand.

McKenna Coleman scored her second goal with just more than eight minutes remaining to bring the Bobcats back to a 2-2 tie, salvaging a draw in Tuesday’s Iowa Alliance Conference clash at Leonard Cole Field.

Mason City (7-3-1, 1-1-1) broke the ice less than eight minutes into the match and eventually got out to a 2-0 advantage with 2:24 left in the first half. Having outscored MHS 27-1 in the last three seasons, the Riverhawks seemed poised to put the Bobcats away early.

Coleman, Marshalltown’s leading scorer, had other plans, even if by accident.

A minute and a half after Mason City went in front 2-0, Coleman cut the margin in half with a stroke — rather a strike — of luck.

MHS freshman midfielder Itzabella Meraz dribbled around the right flank into the offensive zone before dropping off a pass back to Coleman, who caught the bouncing ball with a strong left boot. The ball sailed and fluttered and found its way over the outstretched reach of Riverhawks goalkeeper Claire Sewell, scoring with 53 seconds left in the first half.

Coleman, a righty, was OK with the result.

“I wasn’t actually looking for goal, I was looking for the far side but I ended up getting underneath it enough and it kinda curved a little bit and just tailed in,” she said. “That was one of those that just happens. We’ll take it.”

The strong wrong-foot strike was no accident, she said.

“Our team is very much right-foot dominant so we have been working, working, working on left side,” Coleman said. “Luckily for a couple of us seniors, we are a little bit better with our left so that was just a lucky ball for me.”

The tally took the wind out of Mason City’s sails going into intermission, and Marshalltown maintained the one-goal deficit for much of the second half.

Coleman took another crack at a long goal in the 63rd minute when she took an elbow to the head, resulting in a free kick for the Bobcats and a yellow card for the Riverhawks. Her shot from more than 30 yards curled just wide of the far corner, however, and Marshalltown was left chasing again.

Finally, with desperation creeping in, the Bobcats made the break they needed. A long pass into the offensive zone split the Mason City defense and found Coleman sprinting unabated toward the ball. She beat Sewell to the ball and, with a deft touch to her left, dribbled around the Riverhawk keeper and ushered the ball into the net for the tying score with 8:05 left to play.

She even celebrated a bit, briefly throwing her hands into the air.

“It was an awesome ball that ended up going center and actually split the defenders and I was able, because I was backside, to beat them 1v1,” Coleman said. “With the goalkeeper coming out and stepping straight-on, I was able to take a touch around her and then kinda run it in the goal.”

It marked Marshalltown’s first tie this season.

“It’s our first tie with this new rule (of no overtime) so it’s really interesting. I didn’t think we had [a tie] in mind, but to tie up especially with how close it was in the second half, we’ll take it,” Coleman said. “Especially with Mason City. We’ve really had a hard time keeping up with them. This year, with a new team we have and the young people, to tie up like that is just amazing.”

Mason City had won six straight in the series, and goals from Kaya Whipple at the 7:53 mark and Emma Meyer at 37:36 had the Riverhawks in position to keep the streak alive. But the Bobcats stood up in the second half, especially, by shutting out the 10th-highest scoring team in Class 3A for the final 40 minutes.

MHS sophomore goalkeeper Sophie Valdez Chavez finished with eight saves on the night, with five of them coming in the second half.

“I think we’re definitely happy with the tie, coming back like that,” said MHS head coach Stacy Galema. “I didn’t sub anybody out on defense and we’re playing two freshmen and two sophomores and a sophomore goalkeeper. They did a good job back there to contain Mason City a little bit and limit their opportunities.

“It’s unfortunate they got their two, especially as early as they did, but luckily we fought back and that’s something this team unfortunately has had to do, but the good thing is they have the belief they can do it.”

The Bobcats are back on the field Thursday with another home game, hosting Colfax-Mingo (6-1-2) in a 5:30 p.m. contest.