WORCESTER, Mass. – Lafayette men's soccer continued its Patriot League slate Saturday afternoon against Holy Cross, battling the hosts to a 0-0 draw.

The Leopards were the first side to generate a dangerous opportunity. Lafayette had the ball in its defensive third when the ball made its way to junior defender Cole Duschang. His flighted pass then found the foot of freshman forward Nicolas Papadopoulos who brought the ball down cleanly into the path of junior Samir Dishnica. The Cheshire, Conn. native immediately drove towards goal and rifled a left footed strike that had Mateo Buyu beat, but his shot rattled the crossbar.

Senior captain Eric Axtman was called into action moments later, but he comfortably collected Thomas Mancuso's effort. The Leopards inched closer with a chance in the 20^th minute.

Sophomore defender Anthony Durling held possession on Lafayette's left flank, prior to picking his head up and looking to supply a cross into the box. The Economics major whipped in a very dangerous ball that nearly beat Buyu at his back post, but the ball just bounced wide of his goal.

The Crusaders grew into the game as the half wore on, with the likes of Mancuso and Archie Hatcher looking dangerous on the break. Nonetheless, at the intermission the score stood still at 0-0.

Holy Cross outshot Lafayette 7-5 in the second half and earned three more corners than the visitors (3-0).

In the 68^th minute, the Crusaders created a solid look at goal. They were knocking the ball around Lafayette's penalty area before the ball made its way to Jeb Snead. The midfielder immediately picked his head up and put a cross into the box where Hatcher was waiting. The forward attempted the spectacular with a bicycle kick, but his shot lacked power making it an easy save for Axtman.

The Leopards were on the Crusaders' doorstep in the 75^th minute, but couldn't connect the final pass. Dishnica had the ball on the right flank prior to playing a through ball to sophomore Riley Martin. The forward made his way to the byline and squared the ball to the top of the box where Cade Maglione was waiting. The midfielder attempted to beat his man to the ball, but was eventually brought down and no foul was awarded.

Lafayette thought it had won the match in the 82^nd minute. Dishnica picked up the ball 30 yards from goal and quickly squared up his defender. The Economics major then fired a low driven shot that required Buyu to push the ball wide of his goal. Martin was first to react and he tucked the ball home, but he was in an offside position.

Both teams looked for a late winner down the stretch, but at fulltime the contest ended in a 0-0 draw.

The Maroon and White are back on the road at 7 p.m. on Tuesday as they make the trip to Vestal, N.Y. to take on Binghamton.
 

To keep up with the Lafayette men's soccer team, follow its social media pages.

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