NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men’s soccer team battled with UMBC on Friday night to a 1-1 draw at the ODU Soccer Stadium.
“We let one slip away tonight. We were good in the first half and not taking some more of the chances we created let us down in the end. A second goal would have put the game to bed. Another lesson learned for this group. We continue to move forward and are looking forward to welcoming William & Mary to ‘The Den’ on Tuesday,” said ODU Head Coach Tennant McVea.
ODU (2-2-1) controlled possession for the first half and outshot the Retrievers 10-0 in the opening stanza. The Monarchs drew first on the board with just under five minutes remaining as a foul was called setting up a free kick from the left wing. Andrew Bennett hit a low line drive that found its way through everyone to put ODU on the board at 40:04 for the 1-0 lead.
In the second half, each team found cracks in the opposing defense but couldn’t crack the net for the first 20 minutes. Ryan Calheira took a touch pass from Ismailcan Usta who then found the back of the net with 22:09 left as UMBC (2-1-2) drew even at 1-1.
The final 25 minutes saw the teams pepper each other with shots and strong play by each keeper kept the score as it ended 1-1.
On the night, ODU outshot UMBC 20-7 and took seven corner kicks to none for the guests. For the third time in the four-game series all-time with UMBC, the game ended in a draw.
ODU is back in action on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Interstate 64 battle as they will be hosting William & Mary at the ODU Soccer Stadium.