Catholic University of America

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.  –  The Catholic men's soccer team continued its four-game Landmark road stint on Wednesday with a meeting against Elizabethtown. After the Blue Jays began the scoring in the second half, the Cardinals came away with an equalizer with 15 minutes remaining to come away with a 1-1 draw to advance to 9-0-4 on the season.

Catholic defense has been stellar this season, and that dominance continued in the first half against Elizabethtown. The Cardinals limited the Blue Jays to just a few opportunities, keeping them out of dangerous scoring positions for much of the first half.

The Cardinal midfield played a crucial role in controlling the pace of the match. Elizabethtown struggled to clear the ball as Catholic consistently anticipated the Blue Jays' passes.

Offensively, both teams took four shots apiece in the half. Catholic had solid efforts from Alessandro Marquez Zeleya, Azaria Tewodros, Christian Backich and Hamin Oladokun, but were unsuccessful. Oladokun took a solid shot, nearly putting Catholic on the board, but the ball was saved by goalkeeper Logan Sumner. The game was scoreless entering the half. 

The Cardinals were hot out of the gate after the intermission. They quickly tied their shots for the first half, taking four early shots with two on target. Two of the shots came from Seth Michalak.

With 23 minutes remaining in the game, Elizabethtown broke through. Manny Velazquez collected the ball and switched the field, finding Caba Alvarez on the right side of the goal. Alvarez took a few touches before firing a shot past Catholic goalkeeper Owen Allegro, giving the Blue Jays a 1-0 advantage. It was the first goal conceded by the Cardinals in conference play and just the sixth goal allowed on the season. 

Catholic answered with a goal of its own, knotting the score at one following a corner kick. Backich delivered the ball to the box, where Graham Leary headed it into the back of the net to tie it up. This was Leary's first goal of the season, and the second of his career.

The Cardinals could not find a match-winner in the final minutes despite Jack Cappuccio getting a shot off in the 80th minute and the game concluded in a draw to put Catholic at 3-0-2 against Landmark opponents. 

Allegro played the full 90 minutes for Catholic alongside Leary, Ellington Andrews, Corey Magro and Charlie Paparella. Backich's assist on Leary's goal was his second of the season, making him the fifth Catholic player to record multiple assists on the year.

Up next, Catholic will continue on the road with a match against Drew. The game is scheduled for 2 pm at Ranger Stadium.