WINCHESTER, Va. – The Shenandoah University men's soccer team picked up an important point after coming back from being down 2-0 against Roanoke to score two second-half goals and pick up a tie to cap off a successful Homecoming. The Hornets (10-5-3, 5-2-2) went down early in the first half, giving up goals in the 12
th and 17
th minutes, but got a goal from
Jarbin Rodriguez in the 62
nd minute before
Kyle Welch scored in the 89
th minute to tie the game. Shenandoah led the Maroons in shots, 15-12, while both teams had four corners.
Nathan Lynch started in net for the Hornets and made three saves in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kyle Welch had the game's first shot, but the Hornets came up empty on the possession. Roanoke struck first and took advantage of a turnover in the Hornets' defensive zone. Off a throw-in, Roanoke stole the ball and dribbled through the defense, playing give-and-go, before a shot beat Lynch toward the near post. Keeping the pressure up, Roanoke looked to add to their lead as a shot just sailed left, 30 seconds after scoring their first goal. The Maroons added another goal in the 17
th minute, dribbling down the left side and drawing defenders toward him, Slate Danforth passed to Michael Ramsey who fired a left-footed shot to beat Lynch again giving Roanoke a 2-0 lead. After Roanoke earned a corner in the 23
rd minute, Roanoke came close to taking a 3-0 lead, but
Tas Raji was on the back line to come up with the team save to only keep the deficit to two goals. Off of the rebound, Lynch came up with a big save for the Hornets. As the period was winding down,
Nathan Yared and
Kyle Welch got shots off, but both were off-target, while Lynch made one final save in the 45
th minute.
In a tale of two halves, the Hornets came out of their talk in the locker room with a sense of urgency and started applying pressure on the Maroon defense. Off of a corner kick in the 50
th minute,
Jayden Dillard's shot was stopped by a defender as his shot initially beat the keeper.
Leandro Sainz blasted a shot that was off-target before
Nathan Yared's shot was saved. Going the other way, Roanoke had two opportunities but the first shot went wide before the second shot was blocked by Aiden Browne. The ball bounced in the midfield and found the foot of
Nathan Yared who used his speed and sent a through ball to
Jarbin Rodriguez. Rodriguez's shot took an awkward bounce over the goalie and a defender overran the plan and the ball found the back of the net as the Hornets cut the lead in half. After the Hornets' goal, Shenandoah only gave up two more shots over the final 29 minutes as the momentum shifted toward the Hornets.
Carson Brooks,
Chinedu Ikem, and
Niclas Vavra all had clean looks at the goal, but their shots were stopped. With time winding down again, Ikem was fouled in the corner just outside the box.
Kyle Welch took the free kick and sent the ball into the box where it eluded everyone and found the back of the net in the 89
th minute to tie the game at two goals. The clock hit zeros and the Hornets managed to earn an important conference point as the playoffs start next week.
The Hornets have earned at least one point in six straight conference games as they head into their final game of the regular season against Lynchburg. Currently, the Hornets are in fifth place in the ODAC with one game remaining. The Hornets will look for a positive result to help them move into fourth place and earn the right to host a first-round playoff game.
UP NEXT
The Hornets will return home for the final regular season game on Wednesday, when it will be Hornets vs Hornets as Lynchburg comes to town for a 7 pm kick-off.
#GoSUHornets
