In a heated contest, the American University men’s soccer team (5-6-5) fought back to earn a 2-2 draw against the Lafayette Leopards (4-9-4) on Oct. 24 in a rematch of last year’s Patriot League semifinal.
Before the game, American honored its four seniors, goalkeeper Juan Carlos Alvarez, defenders Ian Webb-Johnson and Owen Edsell and midfielder Reyes Parra.
American entered the game after a successful two-game road trip, starting with a 1-0 win at Boston University and followed by a 2-0 win at Army. The Lafayette game was American’s third in six days.
The Leopards started on the front foot as sophomore defender Lucas Gardeniers and senior forward Roy Biegon each fired off shots that went wide of the Eagles’ goal. Five minutes later and after more Leopards pressure, Biegon forced Eagles sophomore goalkeeper Evan Tubbs into his first save of the game.
As the first half went on, American grew into the game, with the Eagles’ first shot coming from freshman midfielder Yuta Phoenix; however, his effort was easily saved by Lafayette sophomore goalkeeper Harrison Wolfrom. Three minutes later, graduate midfielder Sebastian Garces forced Wolfrom into another save with a shot from outside the box.
Sophomore defender Finn O’Brien had a good half chance for American with about a quarter of the first half left. O’Brien cut in from the right side, but his curling shot went just wide of the Lafayette net. Despite American’s good combination play and switches of play in attack, Lafayette struck first before halftime.
The goal came with about seven minutes left in the half: Lafayette won a free kick in a dangerous position after Parra dragged down senior midfielder Samir Dishnica. Dishnica then played a low, driven ball into the box, setting up junior midfielder James Melnick for the header.
At halftime, the teams were even in most statistical categories, but they combined for 18 fouls without a single yellow card.
Lafayette opened the second half looking to build on its lead, forcing Tubbs into another save in the first six minutes. The intensity also picked up as the teams traded fouls, and Lafayette received two yellow cards in less than a minute around the 54th minute.
The Leopards found their second goal in the 71st minute through Biegon, who pounced on an unfortunate mistake from freshman defender Rohan Chivukula. Chivukula, trying to clear the ball on the volley, swung and missed a clearance opportunity, letting Biegon through. Biegon dribbled past O’Brien before slotting it home.
But American knew they weren’t done yet. Three minutes later, the Eagles responded through Phoenix, who halved the deficit in the 74th minute. Chivukula dribbled at the Lafayette defense before playing it out wide on the right to O’Brien, who then played a dangerous cross into the middle, where Phoenix beat his defender to slot it home.
“I’m feeling good, just grateful for my teammates for helping me just adjust to the college game,” Phoenix said on his sixth start.
Both Phoenix and substitute sophomore forward Nicholas Beil provided offensive sparks in the second half, as Phoenix continued to dribble at defenders and Beil’s hold-up play started American’s attacks. Beil, Phoenix and junior midfielder Chris Sullivan each had a flurry of late chances but struggled to find the finishing touch.
Things heated up after Beil was called for a foul on Desgarniers, which led to an exchange of words between the two players. Beil had his moment when O’Brien flicked on Sullivan’s cross and Beil slotted it home to level the score. Beil and Webb-Johnson celebrated the equalizer right in front of Desgarniers.
The teams combined for 32 fouls, and Lafayette received all five yellow cards.
Head coach Zach Samol acknowledged the team’s struggle to break down Lafayette.
“I think our performance was below par. I don’t think we played that well as a team and I think the decisions we were making weren’t as good in getting the ball into their half and finding the moments to break them down,” Samol said. “I mean it’s a great response, really proud of the guys and they showed a lot of heart and grit today. I really liked the way we went about it.”
Due to other results in the Patriot League, American has clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament for the seventh straight season.
This article was edited by Matthias Jaylen, Jack Stashower and Gabrielle McNamee. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Abigail Jose. Fact checking done by Luca Palma Poth.
