Late Lead Slips Away As Men’s Soccer Draws With Elmira, 1-1
ROCHESTER, NY – The Nazareth men’s soccer team let a one goal lead slip away late on Saturday in a 1-1 tie against a top conference foe in Elmira. Jake Pawlika scored his 10th goal of the season early in the game for Nazareth’s lone goal.
Prior to the game, Nazareth honored eight seniors in Patrick Larkin, Noah Malta, Iskander Kosoko, A’Leman Bardques, Matt Bamford, Jake Pawlika, Cooper LaValley, and Logan Menna
Nazareth sits at the top of the conference standings with 16 points at 5-1-1, while Elmira is second at 4-0-3. The Golden Flyers are now 10-2-2 overall on the season and Elmira 5-6-4. With a win at St. John Fisher (3-0-3) on Wednesday, the Golden Flyers would secure the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Empire 8 Championships.
It was a fairly even first half of play with Elmira holding a 6-4 edge in shots.
Tyler Warmington played a short pass back to Pawlika at the top of 18-yard box. Pawlika took a few touches past some Elmira defenders and slotted a shot on the ground into the far post for a goal in the third minute. Pawlika leads the Empire 8 conference with 24 points on 10 goals and four assists.
The Soaring Eagles had a dangerous chance in the 40th minute with a shot that sailed over the cross bar.
In the second half, Elmira was able to gain the better of play, eventually breaking through in the 88th minute. Jose Navea Corporan rifled a shot from 28-yards out to find the back of the net.
The final tally for shots read Elmira 14 and Nazareth 6. The Golden Flyers held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
Larkin finished the game with six saves.