Elon Phoenix, Cougars Play to 1-1 Draw in CAA Men’s Soccer Opener

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – For the third straight season, the Elon University men’s soccer team battled College of Charleston deep into overtime, but over 100 minutes was not enough to separate the two teams as the match ended in a 1-1 draw in their Colonial Athletic Association opener on Saturday night, Sept. 10, at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex.

Tuki Tayali scored the lone goal for the Phoenix to tie the match at 1-1 in the second half. Elon went to 3-1-1 overall and 0-0-1 in the CAA with its first regular season draw since a 0-0 tie versus James Madison in 2014. CofC’s record went to 2-1-1 and 0-0-1 in league play.

“Every CAA game is a tough game,” said Phoenix head coach Chris Little. “Obviously, we’re a little disappointed on not getting the result we wanted, but we still came away with a very important point. Hopefully we can move on and learn from this in order to be ready to play next week in another tough game at NC State.”

The Rundown
The Phoenix found itself trailing in the opening half for the first time this season thanks to a Cougars’ goal late in the first period. CofC’s Joseph Terry rebounded a header attempt off a free kick at the 43rd minute to put the Cougars ahead 1-0 going into the half.

During the opening stanza, both teams were nearly even in shots with College of Charleston holding a slight 5-4 advantage. Both teams were tied at 2-2 on corner kicks.

Heading into the 63rd minute, Elon finally tacked on the evasive equalizer. Taking a feed from sophomore Nicholas O’Callaghan, Tayali beat the keeper on a sliding kick inside the box for a finish and knotted the game at 1-1 with his second score of the year.

Despite a few limited chances for both teams over the final minutes of regulation and the extra 20 minutes of overtime, neither could find the go-ahead goal and resulting in a 1-1 draw.

Match Notes
• This was the first draw in the series between the Phoenix and the Cougars. The all-time record now stands at 11-6-1 for CofC with Elon being unbeaten in the last three matches.
• Elon and CofC had played to double overtime the previous two seasons as CAA opponents with the Phoenix prevailing with golden goals in both games.
• The Phoenix ended the match with a slight 13-12 advantage on total shots with both teams tied at 5-5 in shots on target.
• Matthew Jegier had a pair of saves in goal for the Phoenix while his counterpart Kevin Shields corralled four attempts for the Cougars. Elon also had a pair of team saves.

Up Next
Elon jumps back out of conference play with a trip to NC State on Tuesday, Sept. 13. That game starts at 7 p.m.