The Oglethorpe men's soccer team found itself in an offensive battle Saturday night in Atlanta against their crosstown rivals from Emory. The Stormy Petrels opened the game with a goal, but the homestanding Eagles scored three straight before the Petrels could respond. Emory walked away with a 3-2 win in the end, dropping the Petrels to 0-4-2 on the young season after 200 minutes of soccer in a little over 24 hours.

The Petrels got off to an excellent start, as they put up a goal in the opening three minutes of the contest. Junior goalkeeper Luke Whelan sent a ball over the top that senior midfielder Gustavo Martinez ran onto and popped over the Emory goalkeeper, giving Oglethorpe a 1-0 lead. Emory responded a minute later, though, tying the score in the fourth minute. They then took the lead in the game's 28th minute and took their 2-1 advantage into the halftime break.

It was a very even half in terms of shots, though, with each team firing seven of them. The Petrels did take six corner kicks for the half to none for Emory.

It remained a largely even game from the run of play in the second half, with Emory outshooting the Petrels 6-5, but the Eagles added a third goal in the 53rd minute, taking a 3-1 lead and really putting the Petrels behind the 8-ball. Oglethorpe responded with a tally of their own in the 84th minute. The Petrels won a penalty kick and freshman forward Gabe Alvarez stepped up and hammered it home, pulling his team to within 3-2. The Petrels were unable to score the tying goal in the final six minutes, though, and Emory held on for the victory.

Emory outshot Oglethorpe 13-12 for the game, but the two teams each put six shots on target. The Petrels took seven corner kicks to Emory's four. 

Sophomore midfielder Topher Marshall and junior midfielder Josh Hoeft both fired three shots, putting one on goal apiece. Martinez had two shots and put both on target.

"I thought we played Emory at least evenly today, if not better, based on the run of play," said Oglethorpe head coach Jon Akin. "Unfortunately, we had some things bounce against us and got behind 3-1 in the second half. Overall, though, I continue to see us improve as a team. This weekend featured back-to-back games against very good teams and I thought we acquitted ourselves well. We'll look forward into going into SAA play next weekend."

The Petrels will begin SAA play in Danville, Kentucky, on Saturday, where they'll take on No. 22 Centre. That game will get started at 2:30 p.m.