Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw against #4 Mercyhurst University on Ted Grant Field on Wednesday afternoon.

Le Moyne struck first when freshman forward Cameron Stuart (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley) scored his second goal of the season in the 18^th minute of the match, then Mercyhurst tied the game later in the half when Sean Kerrigan converted a penalty kick.

"I thought we came out with some urgency, which we lacked last game on Saturday, and I thought we did a really good job of coming out with some urgency and getting on the board first. It was an unfortunate penalty kick that we gave up, but the guys battled really hard, and they put everything they had into the game today, and I couldn't be prouder of them for that," said Le Moyne Head Coach Tom Bonus following the game.

"One area we need to get better at is our restarts. I just think that we are inconsistent with our service and our runs so we got to keep working on that cause once we get that down I think that's going to be the complete package," added Bonus.

The Dolphins were awarded 10 corner kicks throughout the match, compared to six for Mercyhurst.

With 33:14 remaining in the first half, Jack Goodrich (Kelsall, England/King's School Chester) was fouled in the center-left portion of the Le Moyne attacking third and earned a free kick about 25 yards from goal.

Benedict Klimmek (Kiel, Germany/RBZ am Schützenpark) and Goodrich stood behind the ball as Mercyhurst set up a five-man wall. Klimmek ran up to the ball and struck it with his right foot, sending a shot towards goal that was blocked by the top of the wall and bounced out of bounds beyond the goal line for a corner kick.

The ensuing corner kick was cleared away by a Mercyhurst defender back towards the left corner flag where the kick was taken from. Goodrich brought the ball down on the left wing and sent another cross into the box. This one was put on the head of Klimmek, who headed the ball on goal towards the right side of the net, but Mercyhurst goalkeeper Mattias Odelius caught the shot with both hands.

In the 14^th minute Michael Lantry (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Syracuse/DePaul) dribbled the ball up the left side of Le Moyne's defensive third and sent a pass ahead to Michael Sparkes (Glasgow, Scotland/St. Ninians), who checked back to the ball from midfield.

Sparkes sent a touch pass to Tom Henne (Hamburg, Germany/Gymnasium Buckhorn) who was running the opposite direction towards Le Moyne's offensive half of the field. Henne took a touch and then just before he reached midfield, and just before a Mercyhurst defender's challenge could dispossess him, he sent a pass on the ground into the path of Goodrich, who was sprinting up the left wing.

Goodrich took one touch before sending a hard-hit ball on the ground across the field towards the top of the box, intended for Cameron Stuart. Stuart was a stride in front of his defender and was able to get a touch on it, but his shot went wide of the net and out of bounds for a goal kick.

With under 30 minutes left in the first half, Le Moyne won possession near midfield, and Klimmek sent a pass ahead on the ground to Goodrich, who was on the right wing at the edge of Le Moyne's attacking third.

The redshirt sophomore defender sent a pass to Sparkes, who made a vertical run into the left side of Mercyhurst's penalty area. Sparkes faced up his defender then sent a cross in the air to Stuart on the other side of the 18-yard box.

The pass went over Stuart's head, so he turned to run the ball down, then gathered possession at the edge of the right side of the penalty area. The freshman forward made a move to his left, then took a shot from just outside the 18-yard box. Stuart's shot was taken with his left foot and floated over the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper and into the upper left part of the net to put the 'Phins up 1-0.

With just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half, the Lakers earned a corner kick. They took it quickly from the right corner flag, sending a pass on the ground to Sean Kerrigan who received the ball in the right side of the penalty area. Kerrigan made a move towards the goal line and was fouled in the box, causing the referee to award the Lakers a penalty kick.

Kerrigan took the kick himself and put his shot into the right side of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

During the 46^th minute Henne sent a pass in the air over the defense to Owen Bauer (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker/UNC Asheville), who collected the ball at the edge of the 18-yard box on the left side with a defender closely guarding him. Bauer was able to get a shot off with his left foot, but Odelius caught the ball at the near post.

With just over 38 minutes remaining in the match Stuart drew a foul in Le Moyne's attacking third.

In the middle-right portion of the field, about 28 yards from goal Klimmek stood behind the ball as Mercyhurst set up a five-man wall. Klimmek put a shot on goal, aiming for the upper right corner of the net. Odelius knocked the ball away with two fists and it went out of bounds for a Le Moyne throw.

Following a Le Moyne corner kick with 36:45 remaining Mercyhurst sprung a quick counterattack, sending a pass up the left wing for Nic Munch. Terence Crysler-Howard (Toronto, Ontario/Toronto Prep School) was the last man back for the Dolphins and did a tremendous job of preventing Munch from getting into the middle or providing service into the box. Crysler-Howard slid to block Munch's cross attempt, knocking the ball out of bounds for a corner kick.

Mahr saved two shots from Kerrigan during the second half to keep the match level.

Le Moyne went on a counterattack of their own with under six minutes remaining in the match. Jackson Card (McGraw, N.Y./McGraw) made a run up the middle of the pitch where he received a pass then he kicked the ball into the right side of the 18-yard box and chased it down. He withstood contact from the defender and got a cross off towards the middle of the box, where a retreating Mercyhurst defender cleared the ball for a corner kick.

Brett Stern (Lockport, N.Y./Newfane/Duquesne) took the corner kick and sent a cross into the middle of the box. Lantry jumped in the air and contacted the ball, but his header flew above the crossbar and out of bounds for a goal kick.

The Dolphins played the final nine minutes of the match with an extra player after Mercyhurst defender Axel Aronsson received a red card.

Le Moyne earned two corner kicks during the final five minutes but were unable to find the go-ahead goal and left Ted Grant Field with a 1-1 tie.

The Le Moyne College men's soccer team now holds a record of 2-1-1 and will play their first Northeast-10 Conference match of the season on Wednesday, September 14 at the College of Saint Rose.