The Oglethorpe men's soccer team found itself in another hard-fought game Friday evening in their home opener at Salamone Field. In the end, they played visiting Lynchburg to a 2-2 draw, moving to 0-3-2 on the young season. The Stormy Petrels came back from a 1-0 deficit early in the second half to take a 2-1 lead, but the visiting Hornets scored an equalizer and the game stayed tied through two overtime periods.

With the game scoreless through an even opening 45 minutes, the two teams turned the action up a notch in the second half. Lynchburg got the scoring underway in the 56th minute, taking a 1-0 lead after a collision in the Oglethorpe penalty area. The Petrels responded right back in the 59th minute, though, when junior midfielder Josh Hoeft found junior forward Devon Patterson on the back post after a perfect cross from the Lynchburg goalkeeper's left. Patterson headed the ball home past Hornet goalkeeper McLaurin to tie the game, 1-1.

The Petrels took the lead on a spectacular effort from sophomore midfielder Topher Marshall less than 10 minutes later. Marshall picked up the ball in the right corner and proceeded to dribble past a slew of Lynchburg defenders before scoring from an awkward angle, giving Oglethorpe a 2-1 advantage in the 68th minute. The Hornets would respond, however, as they equalized on a pinpoint cross in the 72nd.

Neither team was able to find a winner over the remainder of regulation or during the two overtime periods. The teams combined for four shots during the extra 20 minutes and the Petrels were able to put a shot on target, but McLaurin was equal to the task.

Oglethorpe outshot Lynchburg 15-14 over the course of the game, but Lynchburg put seven shots on target to the Petrels' five. The Petrels tallied five corner kicks to Lynchburg's three. 

Marshall fired five shots for the game and put two of them on goal, including his 68th minute marker. Patterson and freshman forward Gabe Alvarez fired two shots apiece. Oglethorpe junior goalkeeper Luke Whelan made four saves over his 110 minutes of play.

During halftime, both sides took part in a ceremony featuring the family of the late John Salamone, Oglethopre Hall of Famer and namesake of Salamone Field. Salamone's nephew, Thomas, played for Lynchburg in the game, and the family presented checks from the John P. Salamone Memorial Foundation to each program. 

"I thought it was a good back-and-forth game," said Oglethorpe head coach Jon Akin. "We played well at times and there were periods of the game that we need to improve on. Overall, it's clear we're getting better as a team. Our last two results have been ties against a top 10 Franklin and Marshall team on the road and against a very good Lynchburg team here at home. We'll look to continue getting better as we go into conference play."

"The halftime ceremony was a great experience for everyone involved," Akin continued. "It was a unique situation with Thomas, John Salamone's nephew, playing against us. I'm humbled by the gifts they presented to myself and Lynchburg's coach and it was great to have the Salamone family back on campus here at Oglethorpe."

The Petrels will not get much rest after this 110-minute contest, as they'll head across town to the Druid Hills neighborhood of Atlanta to take on intracity rivals Emory Saturday at 7 p.m. After that, they'll travel up to Danville, Kentucky, to take on No. 22 Centre in their SAA opener next Saturday at 2:30 p.m.