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DURHAM, N.C. – Matt Wescoe netted the equalizing penalty kick goal in the 79^th minute as the Elon men's soccer team and the Northeastern Huskies battled to a 1-1 draw at the Duke Classic on Friday night, Aug. 30, at Koskinen Stadium.
 
Elon (0-0-1) outshot the Huskies (0-0-1) 13-9 in the match and had a 7-2 advantage in corners. The Phoenix backline prevented a shot from the Huskies in both overtime periods while Elon had three chances in both extra sessions.

"I thought tonight's match was a very hard fought one between both teams," said Phoenix head coach Darren Powell. "Northeastern is a very well coached and organized team. The game was very tight throughout the entire match and I thought our boys showed great character to keep fighting to get a goal in regulation to tie it up. In overtime sessions, the guys were still playing hard and almost snuck out a win."

Northeastern jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal by Donovan Faye in the 10^th minute. Faye maneuvered past a couple of Elon defenders to deliver a strike from 15 yards away into the top left corner of the goal.
 
Elon had chances for the equalizer in the opening stanza, but could not convert. Daniel Lovitz had a bending shot from the left side go wide of the goal in the 16^th minute. Miguel Salazar also had an attempt on a free kick, but the ball went high over the post.
 
The Huskies continued to be aggressive in the first half with a 5-3 advantage on shots. Faye had a chance to put Northeastern up 2-0 on a free kick near the 41^st minute, but keeper Nathan Dean knocked the ball away for his second save of the half.
 
After intermission, the Huskies continued to put pressure on the Phoenix backline with a pair of shots at the 55^th and 69^th minute, but both went high of the post keeping Elon within reach.
 
In the 75^th minute, the maroon and gold kept pressure on the Huskies' defense as Austin Dunker fired a shot from the top left corner outside the penalty box. The Northeastern keeper was able to corral the ball to keep the score at 1-0.
 
A Northeastern penalty in the 79^th minute led to Elon's first goal of the match. Phoenix forward Thorsten Pacher drew a foul on the NU keeper as both were jostling for the ball in the box. Wescoe converted on the penalty kick to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Elon's Charles Howard nearly had to go-ahead goal at the 81^st minute after he found himself alone at the top of the penalty box, but the NU's keeper made the save as both teams moved into extra time.
 
Elon had two shots in the opening two minutes of the first overtime as Howard and Samuel McBride each had their attempts go wide or blocked by the keeper. Wescoe also had a attempt corralled by Northeastern with nearly a minute left in the first overtime.
 
The Phoenix's best opportunity at a goal came at the 101^st minute on a McBride header that the keeper just got his fingertips on to knock it off the top of the post. Another header shot by Elon's Nathan Diehl could not find its way past the keeper as the match ended in a 1-1 tie.
 
Elon returns to the pitch to close out the tournament with a match versus Rutgers on Sunday, Sept. 1. That match is scheduled for a 12 p.m. kickoff.