In their University Athletic Association (UAA) season opener, the men's soccer team hosted 15th-ranked rival Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday. The Eagles earned a 1-1 tie.
Emory and Wash. U now stand at fourth place in the conference with identical 0-0-1 records.
For the overall season, the Eagles stand at 7-3-1 and the Bears dropped to 6-2-1.
The first half was mainly a defensive battle, despite Emory finishing with an 8-3 shot advantage over Wash. U and a 2-1 advantage in shots on goal.
The Bears' senior goalkeeper Jonathan Jebson kept the match scoreless in the early stages by deflecting freshman Max Gomas' shot on goal.
The game was kept scoreless until the 62nd minute when Emory junior center midfielder Carl Credle scored his second goal of the season.
The goal was a team effort. Junior defender Jeffery Cochran captured the ball after the Bears cleared an Emory corner kick, but a Wash. U defender quickly recaptured it. Junior co-captain and forward Dylan Price redirected the ball to Credle, who scored off the bottom of the crossbar and gave the Eagles a 1-0 advantage.
Cochran was credited with the assist, giving him his fifth assist of the year, while Price earned his fourth assist of the season. The co-captain led the Eagles this season with 16 points.
The Bears struck back quickly. Five minutes later, Wash. U tied the score with a corner kick from senior midfielder Michael Flowers to sophomore midfielder Ike Witte, who headed the ball into the net for his first goal of the season.
The Eagles almost broke the tie. In the 80th minute of play, Price had a chance to score again during a one-on-one with Jebson; however, Jebson dove to block the shot and kept the score tied.
The score remained 1-1, sending the match into sudden-death overtime, where a single goal would end the game. Each team registered a shot during the first overtime period but couldn't score, keeping the score tied at 1-1.
A second overtime ensued, during which Emory registered five shots on goal but was still unable to score. The game ended in a tie, the Eagles' first of the season.
Emory had a decisive advantage in the statsheet, out-shooting the Bears 25-15, including a 9-5 edge in shots on goal. Emory goalkeeper Abe Hannigan played the entire game and both overtimes, all 110 minutes in net, with three saves. This lowers his goals-against average to 1.18 for the year.
"We came out strong against Wash. U for the first UAA conference game," said freshman defender Sean Holly. "We are looking to keep working hard and get a win next game."
Emory will play next on the road against the University of Chicago on Saturday, Oct. 12, looking for their first UAA win of the season.
–By Liza Atillasoy
