DANVILLE, Va. – Senior Day for Averett University men's soccer provided much excitement, but ultimately went in the favor of the visitors, as the Cougars dropped an eight-goal thriller to visitors Shenandoah University, 5-3.
Down 5-0 shortly into second half play,
Daniel Starr kickstarted some momentum for Averett (3-5-4, 0-4-1 ODAC) in the 54th minute, dribbling past multiple defenders and sending a shot into the high left corner for the Cougars' first goal.
Averett got their first penalty opportunity of the season, as
Jonthomas Buckley drew a foul in the box. He calmly slotted in the spot kick, and the Cougars reduced their deficit to three scores in the 69th minute.
The junior midfielder found his way on the scoreboard quickly thereafter, when
Max Gaudry sent a long ball through that set Buckley up in short range. He clinically finished his shot to make the score 5-3 with 16 minutes remaining in the contest.
Shenandoah (8-5-1, 3-2 ODAC) found themselves down to 10 men in the 76th, but the Hornets held on in the later stages to win by the two-goal margin.
Heading into the second period, the Hornets tacked on their fifth goal in the 46th.
The Hornets took a 1-0 lead from defender Gabe Eckenrode from a corner cross, as Nathan Yared found his teammate in the box in the 20th minute. Three minutes later, Connor Robles sent a high strike into the top right corner to double Shenandoah's advantage.
The visitors tacked on two more scores in the first period to lead 4-0 after 45 minutes of play.
Averett led in the total shots margin 15-10. Both squads were dead even with shots on goal with seven apiece. Graduate student
Tyler Yates managed two saves in the contest.
The Cougars hit the road to in-state Salem next, visiting Roanoke College on Wednesday, Oct. 16 for a conference contest. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
