BABSON PARK, Fla. - The Warner Men's Soccer team headed to the other side of Crooked Lake to take on rival Webber International University in a non-conference matchup Thursday afternoon. The Royals and Warriors battled in a tightly contested match that saw the Royals walk away with a hard fought 1-to-1 tie in the team's first road game of the season.
After an early push by Webber that produced 2 shots on goal, both saved by Senior goalkeeper
Mikey Melvin, the Royals were able to get the ball down deep into their offensive third. The Royals offensive pressure forced the Warriors into fouling to stop the attack giving the Royals a free kick in the deep left wing just a few yards outside of the box. As the ball was sent through the box from the free kick, the Royals pressure once again forced the Webber defense into committing a foul resulting in Warner being awarded a Penalty Kick. First year Royal,
Jackson Davenport was given the nod to take the PK, which he smashed into the top of the goal to give the Royals an early 1-to-0 lead in the 11th minute of play. Davenport's hot start has been nothing short of extraordinary. With his 1st half goal, Davenport now
leads the SUN Conference and the NAIA in goals, (7), and points (15). The two programs would continue to battle for the remaining 34 minutes, but found themselves deadlocked heading into the halftime break.
The opening 12 minutes of the second half were very physical as the two teams racked up 10 total fouls as each program attempted to establish themselves physically for the final 45 minutes of action. In the 68th minute, Webber was finally able to break through the Royals stout defense to level the game back at 1 goal each. The Warriors found new energy after tying the game up and would record 4 more shots on goal before the final whistle was blown. Despite the Warriors creating those chances, Royals goalkeeper
Mikey Melvin stepped up and made 4 clutch saves including an incredible 1-on-1 save inside the box in the final minutes of the game to keep his team tied in a hard fought Derby away match. The Royals offense would create chances of their own throughout the 2nd half, but the final whistle would blow before they could find the game winner, ending the Crooked Lake Derby match in a 1-to-1 tie.
Up Next:
The Royals will look to build off their performance from Thursday as they prepare to take on Trinity College of Jacksonville on Saturday, September 5th at 4:00 pm in Jacksonville, FL.
#GodBlessGoRoyals | #TogetherAsOne
