Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's soccer team fought back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to register a 2-2 draw against the FDU Knights on Sunday at Ted Grant Field in the Northeast Conference opener for both sides.

Le Moyne redshirt-senior defender Jack Goodrich (Kelsall, England/King's School Chester) put away his fourth goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 47^th minute after junior forward Cameron Stuart (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley) drew a foul inside the FDU penalty area, then Pham put away his first career goal in the 52^nd minute with an assist from Stuart to tie the game at 2-2.

Le Moyne (3-1-4) outshot FDU (4-2-4) by a tally of 15-8, with a 12-3 advantage during the second half, and took seven corner kicks compared to two for FDU.

Le Moyne sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Dupell (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) came up with three saves for the Dolphins, while his counterpart Spencer King tallied four saves for the Knights.

Goodrich, who has recorded three penalty kick goals on the year and holds the program record for career penalty kick goals with eight, recorded a game-high three shots on goal.

Freshman forward Rhys Allport (Wirral, England/Reaseheath) played the full 90 minutes for the first time in his Le Moyne career, and took a season-high four shots during the match. Goodrich, redshirt-junior midfielder Ziad Abdul-Malak (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius), sophomore defender Maximilian Huss (Karben, Germany/Elly-Heuss-Schule) and graduate defender Victor Boje Henriksen (Greve, Denmark/Greve Gymnasium/Saint Rose) each also played all 90 minutes for the 'Phins.

"I thought it was probably a game of two halves," said Le Moyne head coach Callum Donnelly '17, M '21 after the match. "We gave up two soft goals but I also felt we maybe let the occasion of the game get to us, with it being the conference opener.

"We had to adjust a couple of things at half time, and play more on the front foot. We didn't do the basics well in the first period, which changed in the second half. I was pleased with the response in the second half, and we could have maybe got a third [goal], but FDU will also feel like they could have nicked it. Overall, I'm pleased with the fight that the group showed today," Donnelly concluded.

How it happened:
Le Moyne and FDU entered Sunday's match with the first- and second-best non-conference resumes among NEC teams.

FDU recorded the first shot on goal in the ninth minute after winning a free kick inside the attacking third. Graduate forward Alex Kryazhev ripped a right-footed shot that evaded the Le Moyne wall and skipped towards the bottom right corner of the goal, but Dupell dove to his left and knocked the ball away for a corner kick.

In the 11^th minute, FDU tossed a long throw in from the right sideline towards the middle of the Le Moyne penalty area. The ball was headed high in the air, then dropped at the edge of the six-yard box where senior forward Kevin Leonhard slid and poked a right-footed shot into the net to put the Knights in front, 1-0. The goal was Leonhard's fifth of the season, which is the second most among NEC players.

With 21:35 remaining in the first half, Jakob Priestman (Leek, England/Westwood/Missouri State) drew a free kick near the right sideline. Goodrich served the ball into the box, but King came off his line and got his fists on the ball just before Abdul-Malak could direct a header towards goal.

The Knights won a corner kick in the 27^th minute, and Leonhard swung in a cross from the left flag. The ball was played towards the near post, where graduate defender Nk Tima rose up and headed the ball into the left side of the Le Moyne net to record his third goal of the season and give the Knights a 2-0 advantage.

A little over a minute into the second half, Allport sent a pass down the right wing for Stuart, who dribbled into the penalty area and made a cut to his left before being brought down by an FDU defender. A penalty kick was awarded to the Dolphins, and Goodrich placed his left-footed shot from the spot into the bottom right corner of the FDU goal to cut Le Moyne's lead in half. Goodrich's four goals through seven games played is tied for the third-most among NEC players.

Always ice cold from the spot 🥶

4th goal of the season for Jack pic.twitter.com/VUIYgKiBqy
— Le Moyne Men's Soccer (@LeMoyneMSOC) September 29, 2024
 

Five minutes later, Abdul-Malak sent a pass down the right wing for Stuart, who gathered the ball and faced up his defender. Stuart dribbled into the right side of the 18-yard box, made a quick move to his right and sent a pass in the air across the box to Pham, who thumped a header from a few yards outside the six-yard box into the bottom left corner of the goal to bring the score level, 2-2.

First career goal for Justin Pham was a big one to bring us level today against the Knights pic.twitter.com/bU8pDKwBSZ
— Le Moyne Men's Soccer (@LeMoyneMSOC) September 29, 2024
 

The goal was the first of Pham's collegiate career, and Stuart recorded his second assist of the season on the play.

Le Moyne created a dangerous chance off a corner kick in the 64^th minute when Pham sent a cross towards the back post where senior defender Brady McNulty (San Gabriel, Calif./Temple City/Niagara) volleyed the ball out of the air and hit the right post.

In the 67^th minute, Priestman drew a foul in the right side of Le Moyne's attacking third. Goodrich took the free kick for Le Moyne, and drove a low left-footed shot on goal that was knocked away by King.

FDU's pressure in Le Moyne's defensive half created a chance for the Knights with just under 20 minutes remaining in the match. Leonhard raced into the left side of the Le Moyne penalty area with Henriksen on his heels, then poked a right-footed shot that was saved by Dupell from close range.

With a little more than 14 minutes remaining in the match, Le Moyne redshirt-freshman defender Vito Kreuzpaintner (Munich, Bavaria, Germany/FOS Nord/UNC Wilmington) sent a pass on the ground to the top of the box for Allport, who hit a one-time shot with his right foot that flew just over the crossbar.

The Dolphins put their final shot on goal with about four minutes remaining following a quick counterattack down the right side of the field. Redshirt-sophomore midfielder Jackson Card (McGraw, N.Y./McGraw) dribbled across midfield and knocked a pass into space to his right for freshman midfielder Giuliano Michitti (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton). Michitti took a dribble then sent a pass back to his left for Allport, who used his first touch to play a pass into the right side of the penalty area for Card. Card ripped a right-footed shot on goal with his first touch, but King made the save to keep the game tied.

FDU, which was ranked No. 8 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Northeast Region Poll, moves to 4-2-4 following the draw, while the Dolphins now hold a 3-1-4 record and have recorded a draw in each of their last three matches. The Dolphins remain unbeaten at Ted Grant Field, where they hold a 2-0-3 record so far this season.

Up Next:
Le Moyne will continue conference play at Chicago State on Thursday, then will travel to Stonehill for an NEC match on October 12 before playing its final non-conference game at home against Lafayette on October 15.