BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College men's soccer team (4-5-3, 4-2-3 USAS) played to a 1-1 draw against USA South Conference foe Averett (5-9-1, 3-6-1 USAS) on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
The lone goal for the Tornados came in the 75th minute as Eric Lenhart scored off a free kick by Joao Monteiro. It marked the third goal of the season for Lenhart and the team-best fourth assist of the year for Monteiro. Lenhart, a senior defender from Asheville, North Carolina, has now scored three goals in the last five games, with all three goals coming off set-piece assists from Monteiro.
The two teams played a scoreless first half in a defensive struggle through the first 45 minutes. Each team attempted just three shots in the opening stanza, with just one shot on goal by Averett.
The match remained a scoreless tie until the 56th minute, when Averett's Erik Blick scored a goal on a rapid counter-attack to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
With 15 minutes left to play in regulation, Lenhart struck a header off Monteiro's free-kick to provide the equalizer. The Tornados intensified their attack following Lenhart's goal, however, they were unable to find the go-ahead goal by the end of regulation.
Brevard out-shot Averett 11-3 in the second half to go along with several strong scoring opportunities off six corner kicks in the second half.
The match headed into overtime as the two teams were tied 1-1 as the whistle blew setting up a golden-goal opportunity for each side to win the match in extra time.
Neither team could find the back of the net in overtime however as Averett fired off five shots, all on goal, in the two overtime periods. Goalkeeper Patrick Hall was tremendous in the late-game situations for the Tornados, earning five of his six total saves in extra time, including two dramatic, point-blank stops to help preserve the draw.
Offensively, Brevard out-shot Averett 17-11 in total. Monteiro and Vinicius Giannaccini led the Tornados with four shots each to go along with three shots by JP Suarti.
Brevard returns to action less than 24 hours following the start of the Averett match with a 1 p.m. USA South Conference tilt on Sunday vs. Mary Baldwin University at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
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