BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Georgia Southern men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw at UAB in the final non-conference contest of the 2018 regular season for the Eagles on Tuesday evening at BBVA Compass Field in Birmingham, Ala.

The Eagles (5-5-2) earned a draw with the Blazers (5-6-3) for just the second time in five meetings with UAB. The Blazers now lead the overall series, 3-0-2, between the two teams. Georgia Southern returns to action on Saturday, October 20th, hosting Georgia State in a key Sun Belt Conference match at 7 p.m. The match also renews the Southern vs. State Rivalry Series where the winner will earn a point for its school, while a draw will earn each school a half point. GS currently leads the 2018-19 edition of the Rivalry Series, 1-0.

The Eagles scored the first goal of the match in the 20th minute thanks to senior Javier Carbonell, who dribbled the ball across the top of the box, then fired a shot that deflected off of a UAB defender's foot and popped over UAB goalkeeper James Teal's outstretched hands and into the net for the 1-0 lead. 

The goal is the 13th of the season for Carbonell, who continues to lead the Sun Belt Conference and rank among the Top 5 nationally in goals scored. The score would stay 1-0 into the break, with each team tallying six shots in the first half of play.

In the second half, UAB found the equalizer in the 65th minute. A cross from the right side from Eder Mora found Blake White just inside the box, and his shot dribbled past GS goalkeeper Jokull Blaengsson to knot the score at 1-all. 

The Eagles' best chance for the winner in regulation came in the 78th ninute as a corner kick fell to the feet of Gonzalo Talavera, but his shot went just wide to the left. It would be the only shot of the half for Georgia Southern as the score remained tied at 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.

Georgia Southern had a promising sequence late in the first overtime with back-to-back corner kicks, and shots by Joshua Deane and Lee Flowers, but the score remained tied heading into the second overtime. Carbonell's tough-angle shot in the 103rd minute would be saved by Teal and represented the last chance for the Eagles on the evening.

"Tonight was a hard-fought game against a solid UAB team," Georgia Southern Head Coach John Murphy said. "I think anyone who was at the game wouldn't say it was boring. It was open end-to-end action, which probably benefited them. I thought we were resolute defensively, with the exception of the goal. UAB is a difficult team to play, they are very dynamic and to be able to match up with them takes concentration, takes organization and takes guys winning 1-on-1 battles just about every moment.

"The goal was tough to concede," Murphy said. "I thought we started brightly in the first half. We're disappointed to come away with a tie, but that shows the growth within the team as some teams would be happy coming to UAB on a Tuesday night and earning a draw. We're at the stage where want just a little bit more. But now we will get ourselves back to Statesboro and prepare for an important Sun Belt match against Georgia State."

UAB finished the night with a 15-11 edge in shots. Each goalkeeper - Blaengsson for the Eagles and Teal for the Blazers - made four saves in the match. Georgia Southern had eight corner kicks, compared to six for UAB, and the Blazers were offsides three times on the evening. The foul count was seven whistled on UAB and five on the Eagles.