The Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team fought to the bitter end for a 2-2 tie against the visiting Brock Badgers today (Oct 10) at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.

The draw moves them to a 5-5-2 record while Brock is 1-7-3.

Wind and rain threatened both teams' opportunities. Despite the unpredictable weather, a beautiful strike by Ethan Danielli (Guelph, Ont) just outside the 30-yard mark set the Gryphon momentum rolling.   However, it would not be enough to earn the first score as Brock's first shot found its way into Chad Paparoni (Burlington, Ont) hands.  But an uncharacteristic Paparoni-rebound found its way into Marcus Bernard's (Thornhill, Ont) control as he tapped it in for Brock's first lead of the game.

With seven corners and four shots on net, Gryphon dominance was felt on every level except the scoreboard.  Paparoni was able to work past his earlier slip to keep his team within one going into the half. 

The Gryphons were able to maintain their aggressive ball control and with the added advantage of several strategic substitutions, were able to find their way into the Badger box early on.  In the 54th minute, Guelph finally made its mark on the board as Jared Agyemang was able to chip one in over Brock's keeper.   On the ensuing Brock drive, Paparoni made a huge save to keep the game tied at one.

Yet Guelph's momentum would come to a quick close in the 79th minute as an excellent lead pass found its way through the Gryphon defence to give Brock's Omar Hamadi (Oakville, Ont) a 1-on-1 opportunity with Chad Paproni to regain the Badgers lead.

But less than 10 minutes later, Colin Aubrey (Ottawa, Ont) made a spectacular sliding strike to connect with a cross to tie the game at two.  And, in the 90th minute it seemed that Guelph would earn a last-second victory as they lined up for a corner kick in Brock territory.  But Brock's defence was determined to hold onto the tie and defended the corner beautifully to end the game.

Today's tie currently leaves the Gryphons tie for fourth in the OUA West standings.  The team will look to work its way up the division this Saturday (Oct 13) as they host the McMaster Marauders.  Kick-off is scheduled for 3:15pm at the Gryphons Soccer Complex.