The Emory men’s soccer team failed to improve their University Athletic Association (UAA) record in two conference games this past weekend. On Oct. 18, the Eagles tied the Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) Spartans 2-2 in double overtime and lost to the Carnegie Mellon University (Penn.) Tartans 1-0 on Oct. 20.
The Eagles had trouble finding their rhythm from the start against Case Western. Despite eight shots on goal by eight different Eagles in the first half, the team could not find the back of the net. Luckily for the Eagles, the Spartans also had trouble scoring with only four shot-on-goal attempts by the end of the first half.
Freshman midfielder Alejandro Gomez said it took some time for the team to gain control of the game.
“The first few minutes, it was a scrappy, rough game,” Gomez said. “It was mostly a battle for control of the midfield. Then we started to find the open spaces and began controlling the game more.”
But in the second half, both teams brought a new energy to the field. Within the first five minutes, Spartan junior forward Seldon Magruder scored the first goal of the match after sending a deflected shot into the top right corner of the goal.
After twenty minutes, the Eagles were still down 1-0. But, in the 72nd minute, sophomore midfielder Will Tichy crossed the ball from the right side of the box to junior defender Max Mehlman, who headed the ball into the goal for his first goal of the season.
The Eagles, now tied and fired up from Mehlman’s goal, finished the half with 19 shots on goal. Despite their aggressive play, the Spartans were not ready to give in. Just 10 minutes after Mehlman’s goal, Magruder found senior forward Zachary Sneft at the top of the box, who fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal, putting the Spartans up 2-1.
It looked as though the Spartans would pull away with the victory, but Mehlman did not relent. Freshman forward Zach Kornblum tapped the ball into the bottom left corner after a header pass from Mehlman, tying the game once again. The 2-2 tie would stand until the end of regulation.
The Eagles played ferociously over two overtime periods. The squad outshot the Spartans 4-1 in the first period, but three of their shots sailed wide of the goal while the other was blocked by the Spartans’ defense. By the end of both periods, neither team had scored, and the score remained at 2-2.
Gomez said that their own successes and errors contributed to the result on Friday.
“As our coach highlighted, we have full control of the game, both in the good and the bad,” Gomez said. “The tie was due to a fighting and persistent attitude in not dropping points, but also due to our silly mistakes that allowed the other team to have a hope that shouldn’t have existed.”
The Eagles remained confident going into their game on Sunday against the Tartans. But from kickoff, it was clear the game was going to be physically exhausting. In the 23rd minute, senior midfielder Jun Tsuru received a red card due to two previous yellow cards for fouls. His first yellow card came from chasing down a ball and pulling another player, and his second yellow card was a few plays later when he clipped another player from behind. Both teams had six shots on goal in the first half, but no goals, leaving them tied at 0-0.
The second half followed a similar pattern of aggression and missed opportunity, and it looked as though the Eagles would be headed into overtime for the second consecutive match. But in the 83rd minute, Tartan senior defender Jacob Moskowitz found his way past Eagles’ sophomore goalkeeper Max Carlson and sent the ball into the goal from an assist by senior midfielder Elliot Cohen.
Despite strong efforts, the Eagles fell to the Tartans 1-0. By the end of the match, the teams had accumulated 26 fouls, five yellow cards and one red card.
“We fought tooth and nail to defend,” Gomez said. “But an unfortunate deflection and a bit of luck on their part led to their goal in the last few minutes.”
The Eagles will play their last non-UAA game at home against the Piedmont College (Ga.) Lions on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
