DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? Despite 110 minutes of play, 32 shots and 29 fouls, Embry-Riddle and St. Thomas walk away with a 0-0 tie in the record book. Both the Eagles and Bobcats played strong throughout the contest, but neither team could find the back of the net, resulting in a scoreless conference game. Embry-Riddle now has an overall record of 4-1-3, while STU stands at 3-5-1.
St. Thomas quickly established an offensive pattern of sending a long ball down the field in an attempt to catch Embry-Riddle on their heels and capitalize on the speed of Sunday Ogundasi. However, the Eagles were able to contain the pressure and answer with several strong counter-attacks.
The biggest threat for the Embry-Riddle came late in the first period when Ogundasi won a battle deep in Eagle territory and slippped a shot past Bergstrand, but the Bobcats were not able to make contact with the ball before it rolled safely out of bounds.
Embry-Riddle held the advantage in the first half, as a majority of the play took place in Bobcat territory, but STU did organize several strong drives, for a total of seven shots in the first 45 minutes..
The second half started much like the first, with both teams exhibiting solid combination plays, but struggling to finish their shots. Eight minutes into the half, Michael Donald accelerated down the field to find Ryan Woods just outside the 18-yard box. Woods made a few quick touches, then ripped a shot to the upper-90, but the ball floated just high of the crossbar. One minute later, AJ Barrett crossed the ball in to Joe Yoffe who was jumping for a header, but again, the shot sailed above the crossbar.
The Eagles kept the pressure on, but the result was another long sequence of heartbreaking events. In the 67th minute, STU goalkeeper Aaron Jones left his box in an attempt to clear the ball, but his pass landed right at the feet of Sam Litchfield. Staring down at an empty net, Litchfield chipped the ball over every STU defender, including the goalkeeper, but his shot floated right over the top of the goal.
Four minutes later, Litchfield snatched the ball from Jones to find himself, once again, facing an unattended net. But Litchfield was forced to take the shot from a very difficult angle and the ball hit the near post and deflected out of bounds.
In the 84th minute of the game, Marco Harleman was taken down inside the Bobcat's six-yard box, resulting in a penalty kick for Embry-Riddle. Woods lined up for the shot, but the ball curved one foot wide of the net.
Just before the end of the second half, Ogundasi hit a shot from deep inside Eagle territory, but the quick reflexes of Viktor Bergstrand stopped the ball from falling into the back of the net.
The Eagles opened the first overtime period with several high crosses into the Bobcats' box, trying to convert a header ball, but the smart play of Jones kept Embry-Riddle off the scoreboard.
St. Thomas had five corker kicks between the two overtime periods, while Embry-Riddle saw a fair share of their own “golden goal” opportunities, but in the end, the defense prevailed for both teams and no goals were scored.
The Eagles will continue conference play on Saturday when they travel to Hardeeville, S.C. to face SCAD.
