For the second time this season, the Atlanta-based soccer rivals squared off as the Emory men's soccer team traveled across town to battle Oglethorpe University under the lights in Brookhaven on Tuesday. After playing to a 3-3 tie in their last meeting on September 2, the Stormy Petrels won this iteration of the rivalry with a 1-0 verdict.
A second half tally proved to be the difference as Oglethorpe earned its first win in the series since 2019. With the win, the Stormy Petrels have won four straight to improve to 4-1-4 on the season while the Eagles drop their second consecutive 1-0 decision to fall to 3-5-1 overall.
The first half favored Oglethorpe as Emory used a new-look lineup to begin the contest. The Stormy Petrels outshot the Eagles 7-1 in the frame including a 5-0 edge in shots on goal. Sophomore Sharan Dodwani made two of his three saves in the half as he drew his first collegiate start.
With the score deadlocked at 0-0, Oglethorpe found the decisive goal in the 57th minute. A recycled set piece led to a cross into the box from Daniel Amah where Steven Johnson-Fikula was there for a header into the back post.
Following the strike, the Eagles moved on the offensive with several close chances over the final 33 minutes of play.
Junior Josh Grand provided Emory's first threat in the 62nd minute as he ripped a shot from straight on but it sailed too high and drilled the crossbar. Six minutes later, senior Ryan Hayes collected the rebound following a blocked shot off the foot of Sebastian Rincon and fired a shot to the left post. However, a big-time diving stop from the Oglethorpe keeper preserved the lead.
At the 74th minute mark, graduate student Ryan Winkler had a short deflection redirected on target but his attempt was foiled as it was right at the hands of the keeper.
From there, the intensity of the match took over as 10 fouls were called as well as six cards issued over the final 25 minutes prevented offensive chances from being created. In total, the match saw 25 fouls called as well as 10 cards dealt including Oglethorpe playing one man down for the final 65 seconds.
The Eagles look to right the momentum as UAA play gets underway this weekend. Emory will host WashU in the conference opener on Saturday with a kickoff set for 1:30 PM.
