THE RUNDOWN
DBU battled to a 1-1 draw against Harding on Thursday night at Patriot Field. The game remained scoreless through to the second half until a goal by Hardings's Cian Halpin gave the Bisons the lead. With the match looking like it would end in Harding's favor, the Patriots were finally able to get past Caden Morris allowing Brazzell to equalize with his first career goal.
The Patriots looked to open scoring early in the first half with multiple set-piece chances from corner kicks, but Harding's goalie, Caden Morris, thwarted all attempts. Harding saw their first shot of the night in the 25th minute but the duo of Evan Lupo and Patrick Banich deflected their attempt. The pitch didn't see another shot attempt from either side until Taylor Buena had a close attempt in the 38th minute from a Peyton Voelker cross but he was not able to get the shot over the goal line. With neither team being able to get a shot on goal the first half ended scoreless 0-0.
Just 30 seconds into the second half Hardings Cian Halpin scored the first goal of the match with a shot off his right foot past Banich. The Patriots looked to equalize as Blake Bauer sent a cross to Evan Pustejovsky across the both but Pustejovsky couldn't get his foot on it. As the teams entered the midway point of the second half the score still read 1-0, Harding as DBU had yet to equalize. A foul on the Bisons would award DBU a free kick right outside the box not too long later but Voelker's shot was just too wide as another attempt at equalizing was unsuccessful. The Bison's goal would see another shot attempt from the Patriots as Avery Brazzell looked to commit his first career goal but the shot was wide. With the match looking like it would end in Harding's favor, the Patriots were finally able to get past Caden Morris allowing Brazzell to equalize with his first career goal.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Avery Brazzell scored his first career goal in the 83rd minute.
- The Patriots have yet to be able to score in the first half this season.
- Hunter Dierlam and Evan Lupo played the entire 90 minutes.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5- DBU had five shots attempts and five corner kicks in the first half.
7- Seven Patriots made a shot attempt including,
Hunter Dierlam (1),
Evan Pustejovsky (1),
Gavyn Rosales (2),
Avery Brazzell (4),
Peyton Voelker (3),
Taylor Buena (1), and
Andrew Wagner.
9- The Patriots outshot Harding by 9, 13-4.
19- The pitch saw a physical match with 19 fouls combined between DBU and Harding.
UP NEXT
DBU remains at home as they are set to face Northeastern State at Patriot Field. Game time is scheduled for 5 pm on Thursday, September 19th.
