The Bison men’s soccer team traveled to Washington, D.C. and played to a 1-1 draw against conference foe American University on Sept. 29. Jake Mittman ’22 and Alex Clarke ’22 proved to be the standouts for the Bison attack. Clarke scored his first collegiate career goal coming off of an assist by Mittman.

The Bison played aggressively in the first half, which led to Nick King ’20 playing a long ball to Mittman who was making an overlapping run. From there, Mittman delivered a pinpoint ball to the back post where Clarke finished with a decisive volley into the back of the net.

“As the play was building up, I just wanted to get in the best position possible in order to be an option for my teammate,” Clarke said. “Once he picked me out, I was able to keep my composure and put it in.”

This shot proved to be the only one to find the back of the net through the next 45 minutes of action for the Orange and Blue. The Bison entered the second half strong as Bernie Wright ’20 kept the pressure up by sending a rocket just wide of the goal in the 64th minute. However, the Bison could not sustain their lead. The Eagles scored in the waning seconds to send the game to overtime.

In the first overtime period, goalkeeper Ryan Ott ’19 collected a crucial save in the 98th minute. King put a shot just wide of the Eagles’ goal a few minutes later on the other side of the pitch. The game ended in a draw after constant back and forth action in the second overtime period.

“We feel we are getting closer. Many things need to happen to have success scoring—confidence, chemistry, even luck. We definitely have not had luck on our side,” head coach Brendan Nash said. “We are constantly working on the on-the-field chemistry, and confidence tends to go up and down based on every shot, every chance, every goal.”

On Oct. 3, the Orange and Blue defeated Loyola, 1-0, in a road contest. The Bison will look to improve their record in Patriot League play when they host Holy Cross on Oct. 7 at 12 p.m.