Sarasota, FL – The Webber International Warriors men's soccer team opened up their 2024 season on the road against new conference opponent The New College of Florida Mighty Banyon's. The Warriors fought in a tightly contested match throughout the first half before the Mighty Banyon's took the lead on a 65th minute goal, and just before all hope was lost for the season opener for the Warriors, Tyler Keating was able to notch the equalizing goal in the 80th minute to propel the Warriors to a 1-1 draw to begin their 2024 campaign.
The Warriors, led by head coach Phillip Bohn in his second season, had the challenge of heading on the road to face off against new Sun Conference opponent The New College of Florida Mighty Banyon's to begin their season. After a 1-6-1 record on the road last season, the Warriors were hopeful to start off on a strong note to lead them to a successful 2024 season. The Mighty Banyon's would prove to be no easy contest for the Warriors, as the new Sun Conference foe came out firing on all cylinders recording the first two shots of the game and forcing the Warriors goalkeeper, Rayane El Medhi, to record his first of seven saves of the ball game in the 15th minute. After a series of fouls and back and forth play from both squads, it would be Marco De Rosa who had the first shot on target for the Warriors in the 22nd minute. The shot was stopped by Mighty Banyon defenders by, and the resulting corner kick would not prove to be of consequence for the Warriors scoring chances. The pace of play would pick up as the game reached the 30 minute mark with two shots from both teams in a 6 minute span that resulted in two more saves for El Medhi, and the first save of the game for the Mighty Banyon's goalkeeper. Melu Cagnin would pick up a yellow card on a tough challenge in the 41st minute and that would lead the action into halftime as the score stayed level between the two teams.
The fast pace of play would continue as the second half began with the Warriors goalkeeper, El Medhi recording a shot on target off a loose ball corner kick, but it would be saved. The Warriors would then pick up two quick yellow cards in quick succession with Tyler Keating picking up his first card of the match. The 65th minute would be the mark of the game where the tie would be broken on a Mighty Banyon's goal from Matthew Dynarski, assisted by Andrew Scott to push New College of Florida in front with 25 minutes remaining in the match. The Warriors, feeling the pressure of time against them began increasing their attacking play with two shots in the next 10 minutes and forcing the Mighty Banyon's to start playing physical defense resulting in two yellow cards in the 75th and 79thminutes for Pablo Herrera and Jaden Williams. Tough continued attacking play would pay dividends for the Warriors as Tyler Keating would bring the game back level with an 80th minute goal to pull the Warriors right back into the match. Pablo Herrera would end up picking up a red card for the Mighty Banyons with William Couch drawing a yellow, but one last chance from Lucas Sjoeberg would be the last scoring chance of the game as the Warriors would draw against the Mighty Banyon's 1-1 to start their 2024 season.
After the game, Head Coach Phillip Maestas Bohn had a hopeful outlooks for his team.
"I thought we started very slow which happens in the first game of the season. The first half was really pretty forgettable. The second half boys were much better and showed alot of good signs. Unfortunately we conceded but that's when the game really came to life. We're very proud of our ability to step up and really compete to fight back level at 1. It's a shame we couldn't find that second goal, but the boys fought very hard and showed a good mentality. We now rest, recover and learn from this one and we continue to improve. We have a big conference opener in a week against Florida Memorial. Tyler Keating was our man of the match. He was very steady in the back and scored the lone goal for us."
The Warriors next game on their slate will be on Monday afternoon as they will travel down to Fort Lauderdale to take on the University Fort Lauderdale Eagles at 2:00 PM.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Warrior Athletics. Please visit www.webberathletics.com. Follow us on Twitter- @WebberAthletics, Instagram- @Webber_Athletics, and Facebook by searching Webber International University Athletics.
