READING, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer saw a pair of one-goal leads disappear and had to settle for a 2-2 draw against MAC Commonwealth rival Alvernia University Golden Wolves.
Evan Cope scored both Eastern goals.
The Eagles struck first with a brilliant combination goal in the 31st minute. After a strong defensive stand on the right side, the Eagles broke through midfield with Cope on the dribble. He moved the ball to the left where
Derek Buhrman beat a defender and slid a ball back to the top of the box.
Nik Kokolios pushed a strong pass toward the right post. Cope tucked home the goal with his first touch.
The Eagles took the 1-0 edge to halftime and seemed in control until just after the hour mark. An Eastern foul in the box gave the Golden Wolves a penalty kick. Ryan Cogill converted.
The Eastern answer came quickly. With a strong dribbling run, Cope drew a foul at the edge of the penalty box on the right side of the field. On the restart,
Aidan Link curled a ball into central space.
Tommaso Garavaglia rose up above the Alvernia defense and smashed a header just under the crossbar. The Alvernia goalkeeper pressed the shot into the crossbar, but he could not control the rebound. Cope was in the right spot to knock in his eleventh goal of the year from close range.
Coming into the match, the Eastern coaches knew that the Golden Wolves found most of their attack on restart chances. With that knowledge, the Eagles tempted fate with the 2-1 lead. The Eastern defense defended four corners with the lead, but Cogill converted at the back post in the 83rd minute to draw level. Garavaglia had the only shot by either team in the final eight minutes, but Alvernia goalkeeper Evan Solley was in position to make a save in the 89th minute.
A loss today would have dealt a serious blow to the post-season hopes of either while the draw does not help either side significantly against the rest of the MAC Commonwealth field, but it does stand to delay any kind of tournament clarity for nearly the entire league. The Eagles currently sit in sixth place, but they have a pair of home games against teams behind them remaining. If Eastern and Alvernia both win out, both teams will make the MAC Commonwealth field.
The Eagles will host York on Saturday at 3:00 pm and Albright next Tuesday at 3:00 pm.
