BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. - Despite playing almost 60 minutes down a man on the road, Faulkner (3-4-1, 0-0-1 SSAC) had its chances to take a win, putting more shots on target than Blue Mountain (3-6-1, 0-1-1 SSAC) took, but settled for a 1-1 draw in its SSAC opener Thursday afternoon.
Antoine Marques dribbled around his marker and turned on the jets from defensive half to create a one-on-one with the keeper who he beat for his seventh goal of the season in the 19th minute. The Frenchman is one goal off Jarom Farnsworth and Rodrigo Pontes's program career record mark of 18 goals.
In the 34th minute,
Gabriel Rokbrand was originally shown a yellow for a challenge at the ball by the center referee before he trotted 50 yards over to his assistant referee. After discussing with the linesman, the call was reversed to an ejection, causing the Eagles to play down a man from then on.
The Toppers were held to just three shots on target with the man advantage at home, but it is all they needed as a free kick leveled the scoreline in the 57th minute. Both teams pushed for the winner but it was not to be found.
Faulkner outshot the Toppers 13-6 while placing nine shots on frame, five more than the hosts.
In the two meetings between the sides, the score has been level through regulation time. Last season, with overtime in place, the Eagles found the winner.
Faulkner travels to Talladgea (0-3, 0-1 SSAC) Saturday for a 4 p.m. meeting with the Tornadoes. While Faulkner remains unbeaten against Talladega, four of the five matches have been one goal games or ties with the exception of last season's 5-0 Eagle win.
