SALISBURY, N.C. — The Catawba College men's soccer team held a two-goal advantage at halftime, but Belmont Abbey stormed back to force a 2-2 draw in the programs' season opener at Frock Field on Thursday.
Guilherme Quintas and João Magalhães supplied the goals, marking their first scores with Catawba (0-0-1). Fellow newcomer Breno Andreucci chipped in the side's first assist of the season while recording a team-high five shots. Between the posts, Héctor Vara made one save on three shots faced in a 90-minute effort. The Catawba Indians walloped Belmont Abbey (0-0-1) in the shot count 17-4 with a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Four yellow cards were issued and 27 fouls were called in the up-tempo match.
The sides struggled to settle in initially with only fouls and corners during the first 13 minutes. Andreucci broke the silence with a free kick on net that the keeper stopped, but Quintas tracked the rebound and delivered a left-footed boot to bag the season's first goal. The Catawba Indians kept their foot on the pedal as Magalhães struck in the 17th minute after gathering an Andreucci cross and blasting a hard rolling shot into the back of the net. Leo Souza and Alex Payton put shots on target as Catawba pressed offensively while depriving the Crusaders of any first-half shots.
The hosts missed on a pair of promising opportunities to begin the second half including a corner kick that Belmont Abbey foiled. With the Crusaders keeping play in the midfield, Austin Ball collected possession and ripped a strike from the top corner of the box. Following a yellow card issued to each team, the visitors leveled the score with an Adam Hill goal in the 59th minute. Juan Camilo saw a long-range attempt get saved as Vara got put to work with a high stop, pouncing on the loose ball. Catawba's final chance came on an Andreucci cross that had scoring potential, narrowly missing the head of Magalhães and landing in the keeper's grasp.
Catawba remains undefeated across the past seven home openers with four wins and three draws since 2020.
The blue and white are back in action at Frock Field on Saturday, Aug. 29, for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff against North Greenville.
