BELMONT, N.C. – The Erskine College men's soccer team (0-8-1, 0-3-1 CC) continued Conference Carolinas play with a 1-1 draw on the road at Belmont Abbey College (2-6-1, 1-3-1 CC) behind Toni Neuvonen's 79th-minute equalizer as Erskine earned their first points of the season at Alumni Field on Saturday night.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Table | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network

THE SERIES
That was the fifth draw in all-time series between Erskine and Belmont Abbey with the Crusaders holding a narrow 6-5-5 edge over the Fleet.

THE MATCH
Belmont Abbey outshot the Fleet twelve to two in the first half, and following Nathan Deimling's 25th-minute strike to put the hosts ahead, it quickly became damage limitation mode for the Fleet as they absorbed numerous Crusader attacks. But, thanks to Belmont Abbey's inability to find the target and three saves from Seth Perez in the opening period, Erskine trailed just 1-0 at the break. Head Coach Warren Turner made some adjustments heading into the second half, and the Fleet outplayed the Crusaders, as they outshot the home side five to three with all five shots being on target. The first three attempts were saved, but in the 79th-minute Toni Neuvonen found the back of the net to level things at 1-1. Both sides had a shot on target in the closing minutes, but both were saved as the match headed to extra time. Following a hectic end to the 90 minutes, the two extra-time periods were far from the same as neither side tallied a shot and the Fleet earned a 1-1 draw on the road at Belmont Abbey.

THE PLAYER
Freshmen midfielder Toni Neuvonen came off the bench for the Fleet and scored the equalizing goal for Erskine in the 79th minute to force overtime.

THE TEAM
Belmont Abbey outshot Erskine 15 to seven, but the Fleet had a six to five advantage in shots on target. Erskine goalkeeper Seth Perez made four saves.
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Fleet continue their fall 2021 season on the road on Wednesday evening against former conference foe and current rival, Anderson University (5-2-1, 2-2-1 SAC) at 7:00 p.m. The Trojans lead the all-time series 7-3-2, but the last six meetings have all been decided by just a single goal.

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