WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes University men's soccer team played the Susquehanna University River Hawks to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday night after a last-second goal from goalkeeper Matthew Conti (Florence, NJ/Florence Township Memorial High School).

The Colonels now sit at 1-7-4 on the season and 0-1-2 in the Landmark, while the River Hawks go to 4-6-2 and 0-1-2 in the Landmark.

Both teams played an even first half as both teams matched one another in many statistics. Each team had one corner kick and two saves, but Wilkes had the slight edge in shots over Susquehanna 5-4. However, the Colonels got on the board first at 27:41 when Elijah Emedoh-Kaba (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown Area) dribbled through the defense and got a shot just past the goalkeeper on the left side of the penalty box to make it 1-0.

Wilkes held that lead going into halftime, but Susquehanna responded early on in the second half. The River Hawks took advantage of a Colonel turnover on their side of the field, and Angelo Zografos capitalized with his fourth goal of the year to tie the game.

With the score still tied in the 66th minute, another crucial mistake gave the River Hawks the lead. Grant Gerstner (Carlisle, PA/Cumberland Valley High School) fouled Susquehanna's Owen Kaar in the penalty box, giving Kaar a penalty kick, and Kaar delivered on the attempt to make it 2-1 River Hawks.

Despite some good chances for the Colonels to even up the score after that point, the River Hawks held their lead going into the final seconds. Wilkes had one last chance on a corner kick with just 17 seconds left to play, and as a result Conti left his net to give the Colonels an extra man for the final shot. Will Wagstaff (Allentown, PA/Parkland) sent the ball into the mass of bodies, and the ball deflected right to Conti who scored his first collegiate goal with nine seconds remaining to make it a 2-2 final.

Both Wilkes and Susquehanna each took 13 shots and had three corner kicks all game, but the River Hawks had more shots on goal with seven compared to five for the Colonels. Kaba finished with one goal on two shots, but Wagstaff led Wilkes with three shots taken. In addition to the tying goal, Conti made four saves in net.

The Colonels travel to Washington, D.C. for their next game on Saturday, Oct. 11 against Catholic University. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.