The Benedictine Mesa men's soccer team battled back from a two-goal deficit to earn a hard-fought 3-3 draw against Embry-Riddle.
Embry-Riddle struck first in the 5th minute when
Rojvan Karaer found the back of the net off an assist from
Nitai Bental. The Redhawks answered quickly just three minutes later, as
Gergo Varga converted a feed from
Ryder Padgettto level the score at 1-1.
The Eagles regained the lead in the 22nd minute through
Lucas Thompson, sending Benedictine Mesa into the break trailing 2-1 despite several strong attacking chances, including two shots that hit the post from
Raegan Rintoul and
Varga.
Early in the second half, Embry-Riddle extended its advantage when
Bental scored in the 54th minute, assisted by
Sean Maguire, making it 3-1. But the Redhawks refused to back down. In the 61st minute,
Shiloh Perez came off the bench and immediately made an impact, scoring with an assist from
Jonas Foppen to cut the deficit to one.
Just two minutes later, Benedictine found the equalizer when
Padgett found the back of the net, tying the match 3-3 and shifting momentum in favor of the Redhawks.
Benedictine had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 76th minute after earning a penalty kick, but
Rintoul'sattempt was denied by Embry-Riddle goalkeeper
Alex Bissett. Despite late pressure from both sides, neither team was able to find the winner.
Key Players:
Looking Ahead:
The Redhawks are back on the field on Saturday, October 25, as they travel to take on Arizona Christian.
