An evening that began so promising for Mississippi Brilla turned sour as the Houston Leones rallied for two late goals to tie the match 3-3 on Saturday in Houston. Mississippi scored in the third minute of the match, and twice held two goal leads. However, the much needed win in the race for the playoffs slipped away as Houston fought its way to a tie.

Mississippi Brilla took control of the match early as Phillip Buffington placed a nice shot past Houston goalkeeper Christopher Dodd. The goal was created by a header from Dwyane Demmin that gave Buffington a breakaway to the goal. In the 40th minute, Demmin's head would factor in the second goal for Mississippi as he headed a great cross from Tripp Harkins into the net.

The two goal lead for Mississippi was short lived as George Sangira knocked in a loose ball following a Houston corner kick only one minute later. The Houston counter led to a 2-1 halftime score.

Mississippi extended its lead to 3-1 as Buffington scored his second goal of the night. Buffington headed a deflection past the Houston goalkeeper who had left his line in an attempt to gather the loose ball. Houston continued to fight, never giving up each time they fell behind. The Leones rallied with two goals by Otto Valdez in the final 10 minutes to equalize the game at 3 a piece.

"We have to learn to finish games like this," said Head Coach Steve DeCou. "Our goal is still to make the playoffs, and alot can happen the last two weeks of the season."

The tie leaves Mississippi Brilla (5-4-3) in 4th place with 18 points. Up next for Mississippi is a match at division leading Austin Aztex on Sunday night.