Canton, NY – Chris Escobar scored his first goal of the season while Joey Raap made nine saves in his first collegiate start as the SUNY Canton men's soccer team earned a 1-1 draw with the Norwich Cadets Tuesday evening.

THE BASICS

• Result: SUNY Canton 1, Norwich 1
• Location: SUNY Canton Turf Field – Canton, NY
• Records: SUNY Canton (1-6-1) | Norwich (3-1-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Norwich had the first two shots in the game coming in the 1^st and 6^th minutes with Joey Raap making saves on both.
• A little more than eight minutes in, Owen Lebron came surging down the right wing. Lebron ended up shanking the cross attempt, but the pass turned out perfectly as the ball found a wide-open Escobar open right in front who one-timed it bottom left as the Roos scored the opening goal for the first time this season.
• There were plenty more shots in the first half from each side, but the Roos could not pad their lead, nor could the Cadets get their first goal. Demetrius Blake Jr. had the only other shot for SUNY Canton.
• Norwich poured on eight shots in the half, seven on net. Things looked a bit scary on a couple occasions with the Norwich having a few free kicks around the net, but Raap was a brick wall and the SUNY Canton defense did their part.
• With SUNY Canton holding a 1-0 lead at the half, Norwich had an 8-5 edge on shots and a 7-2 lead in shots on goal.
• Shots were sparring in the beginning of the second half with Norwich getting their total up to 10 with two while the Roos added one through the first 15 minutes.
• The Cadets had a big chance with just over eight minutes left after a foul on SUNY Canton inches outside the box. However, the ball was deflected to the left of the net and the Roos fought off the resulting corner kick.
• However, not long after in the 85^th minute, the Cadets sent a long ball into the Roos zone. The ball was picked up by Shea Perkins who beat his defender to get a breakaway chance, leading to a wide-open net for Perkins who tied the game at one with under six minutes left.
• SUNY Canton picked up the momentum after this and got a corner kick with under 30 seconds left, but it was booted out to midfield as time expired with the Roos earning their first tie of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Escobar scored the lone goal for the Roos with Lebron earning the assist on the play.
• Perkins scored the game-tying goal for Norwich. The Cadets had nine different players register a shot while six total players had at least one shot on net.
• The visitors outshot the Roos 17-9 and had 10 shots on goal while SUNY Canton had only three. The Roos had more corner kicks than Norwich, taking five while the Cadets only took three.
• Raap saved nine of the 10 shots he faced while Kirk Rodgers had two saves for the Cadets on three SUNY Canton shots.

 

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Roos next game will be on Sunday, September 21 where they will head out of state for a game at VTSU Castleton with a 2 p.m. kickoff.   
   

Discover SUNY Canton, where innovation meets opportunity. The college's career-focused educational programs emphasize hands-on and applied learning opportunities in digital design, engineering technology, health, information technology, management, public service, and veterinary technology. Faculty members bring real-world experience and exceptional academic expertise to the classroom. As a leader in online education, SUNY Canton offers unmatched flexibility with hundreds of courses and 25 comprehensive degree programs offered completely online. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the SUNYAC. In addition to its 15 traditional teams, SUNY Canton offers coed varsity esports and cheerleading.