ASHLAND, Va. – Senior All-Little East Conference midfielder Andres Mayuri (West Hartford) scored his 13^th career goal with 14 minutes left to lift the Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer team into a 2-2 tie against Averett University in its season-opener Saturday afternoon at Nunnally Field on the campus of Randolph-Macon College.
 
Eastern trailed twice in the match against first-time opponent Averett (0-0-2), with sophomore forward Logan Brennan (Farmington) tying the game with his fifth goal in 11 career matches off an assist from sophomore forward Sean Cafferty (Clinton) 13 minutes before halftime. Both Brennan and Cafferty had come off the bench in the first half to combined on the goal, with Brennan connecting on the tying goal six minutes after entering.
 
Eastern had an opportunity to break the second tie with 2:30 left, but senior defender Jared Caroline's (South Windsor) header from the top of the box off of Mayuri's corner kick was went right Averett junior keeper Tyler Yates.
 
Eastern doubled the Cougars' shot total (12-6) and Eastern's defnse of starters Edwards, Caroline and senior Larson Richards (Mansfield) permitted only four Averett corner kicks.
 
Averett had opened its season Thursday with a 1-1 tie at Southern Virginia University, tying the match with seven minutes left.  The Cougars had lost in the semifinal round of the USA South Conference tournament last fall.
 
Three first-year players joined eight veterans in the Eastern starting lineup: defender Lex Edwards (Milford), midfielder Niall O'Brien (Guilford) and forward Cayden Boukus (Mansfield).
 
The Warriors are coming off their sixth LEC playoff championship under 16^th-year head coach Greg DeVito.
 
Eastern winds up its Labor Day weekend pair in Virginia Sunday at 7 p.m., facing host Randolph-Macon College at the R-MC Soccer Field. The Yellow Jackets opened their season Saturday with a 4-1 win over Southern Virginia University, breaking a tie with three goals in 17 minutes.