Eagles, Bobcats Tie 1-1

MIAMI, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's soccer team scored the first goal and played nearly 63 minutes with a one-man advantage, but although the odds seemed stacked in their favor, the Eagles were unable get past St. Thomas, finishing with a 1-1 tie with the Bobcats on Tuesday. The Eagles are now 7-3-2 on the year and 2-0-2 in The Sun Conference, while the Bobcats stand at 7-2-3, 3-1-1.

The first period was characterized by physical play as the referee called 16 fouls and issued three yellow cards in the first 45 minutes. The game began at a somewhat pedestrian pace as each team struggled to find its rhythm. Ryan Maloney took the Eagles' first shot of the contest and from that point the Eagles settled into their offense, while the defense stifled the St. Thomas attack.

In the 27th minute, a series of one-touch passes led to Maloney receiving the ball inside the 18-yard box. As he attempted to turn on his defender, Maloney was brought down inside the penalty area and his ensuing penalty kick beat Bobcat goalkeeper to put the Eagles up 1-0. The foul was doubly costly for the Bobcats as Miyen Spinneli received his second yellow card on the play, forcing St. Thomas to play a man down for the remainder of the game.

The Eagles had the better of the possession to start the second half, but the Bobcats continued to hold their own on the defensive end while pushing forward on offense. Their persistence paid off in the 63rd minute when Thiago Roca took advantage of a defensive lapse by the Eagles and hit a shot from just outside the box into the far side netting to knot the score at 1-1.

Both teams sought to create chances through the remainder of regulation as well as the two overtime periods, but neither team was able to score again resulting in the 1-1 tie.

The Eagles return to the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m. on Saturday to host Savannah College of Art and Design.