The Oglethorpe men's soccer team moved one step closer to an SAA regular-season title and the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament Friday with a 1-1 tie against Rhodes on the road in Memphis, Tennessee. The result moves the Stormy Petrels to 9-2-2 on the season overall and 4-0-1 in SAA play, putting them in first place by four points in the SAA standings.

The Petrels' 4-0-1 record gives them 13 points in the standings currently (three points for a win, one for a tie). With Birmingham-Southern, Centre and Millsaps all jumbled up between second and fourth place at between six and nine points, the Petrels will ensure the conference regular-season title if they can reach 16 points in the standings. That would be achieved with a win in one of the team's final two games. 

The Petrels got off to an excellent start on Friday, taking a very early 1-0 lead in the fifth minute when senior midfielder Nick Muntean took a feed from freshman midfielder Topher Marshall and calmly placed the ball into the back of the net. The marker was Muntean's ninth of the season, putting him second in the league in that category. Marshall's assist was his fifth, placing him in a tie for second in the league. 

The team went in search of another and had the better of overall play in the first half, outshooting the homestanding Lynx 6-3, including 7-1 on goal, but Rhodes goalkeeper Riley Sheen made a couple of saves to keep his team in it. Rhodes then tied the game in the 40th minute.

The second half was a fairly even affair, with both teams having chances to snatch a game-winner. The shot count in the period was an even 8-8, although the Petrels forced Sheen into five saves while senior Oglethorpe goalkeeper Vaughn Moore only had to deal with a single shot on goal, which he stopped. 

The game went into 20 minutes of extra time to try and decide a winner, and Oglethorpe saw the much better chances in the extra periods, firing six shots to the home team's none and putting a couple of them on target. However, Sheen was equal to the task and preserved the 1-1 tie and the point in the standings for his team.

For the game, the Petrels outshot Rhodes 20-11, including 10-2 on goal. The Petrels took eight corner kicks to Rhodes' five, as well. Muntean fired 10 shots in all Friday afternoon, putting five of them on goal. He has now fired 61 total shots on the season, putting him well into the league lead in that category. 

"A draw isn't a bad result for us at this point," said Head Coach Jon Akin. "I did think we had several chances to win the game, especially in extra time. I'd like to see us put those chances away in the future, but we're still undefeated in-conference and in an excellent position where one more win will clinch the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed."

The Petrels will go for the regular-season title Sunday in Conway, Arkansas, where they'll take on Hendrix. The game is scheduled to kickoff at approximately 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. After that, they'll return home for their Senior Day festivities against Centre next Friday at 7:30 p.m. before heading into SAA Tournament play.