Men's soccer earns 1-1 draw with #9 Emory

Men's soccer earns 1-1 draw with #9 Emory

WALTHAM, Mass. – In a well-played, back-and-forth contest on Gordon Field today, the Brandeis University men's soccer team fought the Emory University Eagles, ranked No. 9 in the nation, to a 1-1 draw in University Athletic Association play. Brandeis moves to 7-4-1, 1-2-1 in the UAA, while Emory goes to 11-1-2, 1-1-2 in the conference.

Brandeis got the scoring started early. Just 150 seconds into the contest, junior forward Luke Teece (Tucson, Ariz./University) took advantage of an Emory miscue. An Eagle defender's back-pass to the goalkeeper was not strong enough, allowing Teece time to sneak in ahead and chip the ball into the net. The goal, Teece's team-leading eighth of the campaign, was just the third allowed all season by Emory junior Trenton Spindler (Leawood, Kans./Blue Valley Northwest).

The Eagles nearly got an early equalizer in the sixth minute. Junior midfielder Zach Samuels (Savannah, Ga./Savannah CDS) beat Brandeis senior Taylor Bracken (North Andover, Mass./St. Johns Prep) to a ball and tapped it towards the end line. Bracken made a fine effort to get back to the ball, diving to bat it away. The rest of the half was end-to-end, with Brandeis finishing with an 8-6 edge in shots and Emory taking a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Early in the second half, the visitors had a bit more of the advantage, earning two more corners and a 4-2 edge in shots in the first 12 minutes. The pressure culminated in a penalty kick at the 57:01 mark when junior Nao Masuda (Radford, Va./Radford) was hauled down in the box. Sophomore Andrew Natalino (Marietta, Ga./Walton) was called on to take the PK, and he buried it into the left netting for his seventh goal of the season. The Eagles owned the rest of the half, finishing with an 8-3 edge in shots, including another near miss just before the end of the half when Masuda's shot in the 88th minute was cleared by Brandeis senior Matt Hohmann (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth), who was tracking back on the play.

In the first overtime, Brandeis had the better of the play, with Spindler making a pair of saves on rookie Kyle Feather (Pinebrook, N.J./Montville Township). Emory had the edge in the second, but Bracken stoned senior Christopher Howie (Savannah, Ga./Savannah CDS) in the 103rd minute. Junior Kamron Zia (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek) hit the outside of the net in the 108th and Natalino headed the ball wide in the 109th to close out the scoring attempts.

Bracken finished with six saves for the Judges, who finished a stretch of three straight games against nationally-ranked UAA teams with a 1-1-1 record. Spindler also had six stops for the visitors.

Brandeis returns to action with a non-league contest at 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon against Springfield College in their final home game of the season. Emory hosts Maryville College Friday night at 7 p.m.