Men’s Soccer Battles Roger Williams to 1-1 Draw on Homecoming Weekend

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's soccer team tied Roger Williams 1-1 Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium during Eastern Nazarene's Homecoming.

The Lions move to 5-9-1 on the fall and 1-4-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Hawks progress to 7-6-2 overall and 2-3-1 in league play with the result.

The home team manufactured seven shots in the first half while limiting the guests to just two despite Roger Williams holding 4-1 advantage in corner kicks earned.

Eastern Nazarene snapped the 0-0 deadlock just 1:48 into the second half. Rookie Andrew Nelson (Burtonsville, Md.) buried his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 47th minute to give the hosts a 1-0 edge. Senior Will Campbell (Anchorage, Alaska) picked up his second assist of the fall on the opening score.

Roger Williams leveled the score at 1-1 in the 76th minute as Andrew Carlson curled a shot inside the left post.

With less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation, heavy rainfall saturated the turf and created a slick playing surface.

Nelson nearly reclaimed a one-goal lead for the Lions in the 83rd minute but his close-range effort rang off the right post as the match remained knotted at 1-1.

Eastern Nazarene sported a 16-9 margin in shots through 90 minutes of action and a 7-5 edge in corner kicks after earning six in the second stanza.

Neither squad was able to net a golden goal in the two extra periods as Eastern Nazarene logged its first draw since September 26, 2012 against Springfield College.

The Lions concluded the contest with 19 total attempts while the Hawks generated 11 on the afternoon.

Nelson fired a team-high six shots in the match while Campbell registered four. Chris Garcia (Gaithersburg, Md.) and Omar Cruz (Gaithersburg, Md.) each attempted three shots in the game.

Senior Jake Johnson (Mount Bethel, Pa.) turned aside five shots in net for the home side. Tom Mangels made six saves between the posts for Roger Williams.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene hits the road for a midweek matchup at Gordon October 22.