ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's soccer team took the lead on an early goal in the second half, but Drexel came back with two unanswered scores to prevail with a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix on Saturday night, Oct. 5, in a Colonial Athletic Association showdown at Rudd Field.
 
Elon moved to 3-6-1 overall on the season and fell to 0-4 in league play. The Dragons improved to 4-5-1 and leveled its record to 2-2 in the CAA.
 
The Rundown
The Phoenix had a couple of early cracks at an opening half lead near the 13^th minute. Elon earned a corner kick and set up a header attempt from Luke Matthews off the set piece. The Dragons keeper however knocked the ball out of harm's way to keep the shutout intact.
 
That would be Elon's best attempt of the opening stanza, but the Phoenix dominated in possession over the Dragons and held a 6-1 shot differential over Drexel in the first period. Drexel's lone shot attempt did come on goal in the 40^th minute, which was stopped by Phoenix netminder Alex Lorne.
 
Coming out of the half, Elon quickly struck first to get on the scoreboard in the 46^th minute. Lewis Green played a cross to Tuki Tayali, who then sent a through ball to a streaking Burl Shepherd who was able to finish near the left post. It was the third goal of the season for Shepherd as Elon moved in front 1-0.
 
That lead would evaporate nearly 10 minutes later as Drexel came back with the equalizer. The Dragons drew a foul just at the top of the 18-yard box and earned a free kick with Francisco Rodrigues de Palma taking the assignment. The senior sent a low shot that found the back of the net to tie the match at one-all.
 
Elon almost retook the lead nearly a minute after the Drexel goal. Kasper Lehm beat the Dragons defense on the left side and fired a shot that was deflected by the Drexel goalkeeper that hit the left post and the bottom of the crossbar before being cleared by the defense.
 
Inside the 77^th minute, Drexel scored the eventual game-winning goal. Dragons' leading scorer Chris Donovan found himself one-on-one with Lorne, but was able to beat the netminder for his sixth goal of the season to put Drexel ahead 2-1.
 
The Phoenix chased after the evasive equalizer inside the final minute with the best chance coming off the foot of Vemund Hole Vik in the 84^th minute. The first-year player fired a shot inside the box toward the top right corner, but the ball sailed too far and hit the post. Elon would get one more shot off a corner kick in the 88^th minute, but a header from Lewis Green went high.
 
Elon closed the match outshooting Drexel 15-5 with the Phoenix having a 5-3 advantage on shots on target. In goal, Lorne played all 90 minutes with one save while his counterpart Cameron Sanders made four stops on the night.
 
Up Next
The Phoenix continues CAA play with a midweek road matchup at William & Mary on Wednesday, Oct. 9. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time.