EDWARDSVILLE - Ben Lovell scored right before the stroke of halftime to give Edwardsville a 1-1 draw with Moline in the Tigers' home opener Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
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The game marked the home debut for new Edwardsville head coach Josh Boyd, and also marked the first time he and another team shared the points following the draw.
It also was the Maroons' second consecutive draw on the road, having played to a goalless draw against O'Fallon at OTHS Panther Stadium two nights earlier. Moline is now 1-0-2 for the season.
Both teams went down to 10 men in the first half after an uprising between two opponents, which resulted in straight red cards for both players. The sendings off forced both the Tigers and Maroons to play with 10 for the remainder of the match.
Moline took the lead in the 43rd minute to take a 1-0 lead, but Lovell cancelled out the Maroon goal with one of his own in the 45th minute to bring Edwardsville level at 1-1. Lovell and the Tigers had good chances in the second half, as did Moline, but both sides were unable to find the back of the net as the two teams shared the points, with the match ending in the draw.
The Maroons are now 1-0-2, while the Tigers go to 1-1-1, and will open Southwestern Conference play at O'Fallon Thursday night at 6:30 p.m., then play at the Morton Invitational tournament next weekend, with their first game Friday at 6 p.m. Edwardsville returns home Sept. 8 to play Alton, then meet Collinsville on Sept. 10 at home, both games starting at 5:30 p.m.
