MEADOWVIEW, Va. — The Catawba College men's soccer team wound up short-handed in a fiery South Atlantic Conference clash with Emory & Henry on a dreary Sunday at the Food City Sports Complex, fending off late chances from the Wasps to chalk up a 1-1 draw and take a point in league standings.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (4-4-3, 1-3-3 SAC) recorded its third-lowest shooting mark of the season with nine attempts, rivaling the Wasps' (4-3-3, 3-1-2 SAC) 12 deliveries
- Emory & Henry led the contest in shots on goal 5-4, but Catawba had a 4-1 advantage in the second half after being held silent in the first 45 minutes
- The Catawba Indians surrendered a season-high nine corner kicks to the Wasps while tying their lowest value of two opportunities
- E&H was whistled for 13 fouls compared to Catawba's seven, but the squads combined for eight cards including two reds (second yellows) shown to Catawba and one straight red against the Wasps
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Adriano Melo registered his second career goal with just one shot
- Tomas Kelly led all Catawba Indians with three shots including two on-goal boots, while Luis Rodrigues provided a pair of shots
- Freshman defender Dominic Rück ended a six-match hiatus by starting and playing every minute
- In net, Héctor Vara totaled four stops on an .800 day in the box
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Catawba drew a penalty against E&H goalie Baptiste Berthozat in the second minute, but missed high with a booming kick off the crossbar
- Vara was tested by on-goal deliveries in the 16th and 35th minutes
- The Wasps broke the seal when Milan Ales found Mila Mzamane on a cut-back cross that met a sweeping left foot and tickled the twine with 6:27 until halftime
- The visitors earned a corner kick chance and saw Rodrigues narrowly miss high on a firm blast from 20 yards out, then had to save a 43rd-minute attempt from the Wasps to keep it 1-0 at halftime
Second Half
- Kelly found a pair of openings midway through the period but was denied by Berthozat both times
- The second saved shot by Kelly drew a corner kick that caused another penalty kick chance for Catawba moments later; Melo stepped up, paused, and dished a shot inside the left post
- Early yellow cards came back to haunt Catawba, who went down to 10 men in the 81st minute, then nine men in the 85th minute
- Despite two E&H corners in the last five minutes, the blue and white turned away the Wasps with a shot block and forced another high
- The hosts were issued a red card of their own in the 88th minute to shut down their late push as proceedings drew to a close
UP NEXT
The Catawba Indians venture out to the High Country on Friday, Oct. 24, to square off with Mars Hill at 7:30 p.m.
