Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – Eastern Connecticut State University and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy scored five minutes apart early in the first half and 1:34 apart in the final minutes of the game in playing to a 2-2 non-conference men's soccer draw Tuesday evening at Rick McCarthy Field.

In its home-opener, Eastern (1-1-2) scored the first goal allowed by Coast Guard (4-0-1) this year in tying the match, 1-1 in the 15^th minute, but the Bears reciprocated in the 83^rd minute to forge a tie -- just 94 seconds after senior  Sean Cafferty's (Clinton) second goal of the match had given the Warriors their first lead.

The Warriors' go-ahead goal in 82^nd minute began on a re-start when first-year player Gianni Troia (Milford) headed Niall O'Brien's (Guilford) free kick off the crossbar from the left side. The ball caromed off the top of the bar to the opposite side of the field toward Cafferty, who crashed in from the right side to cleanly head the ball past Coast Guard keeper Connor Hickey.

Less than two minutes later, however, the Bears gained the equalizer to avoid their first loss of the season. The Bears' tying goal originated from a throw-in to Micah Messner, who served the ball from in front of the CGA bench into the box. An Eastern defender leaped and got his head on it, but the ball continued across the box and sailed over the head of a second Eastern defender to Naveen Jayaram, stationed on the left side. Jayaram volleyed the ball back into the box, where Michael O'Brien was alone near the right post, and one-timed a right-footed shot past Eastern senior keeper Nathan Yeich (Willington).

Just moments earlier, Yeich had come up with what appeared to be a game-saving save when he sprawled to smother a bid from in close by O'Brien, who had received a head ball from Jude Sargent.

Cole Miller's second goal of the season in the ninth minute had given the Bears an early 1-0 lead before the Warriors countered five minutes later on their first shot of the game, with Cafferty's second goal of the season beating starting keeper Samuel Linkous.

With the score tied with 15 minutes left in the match, Messner nearly pushed the Bears in front. Eastern attempted to clear the ball off a Coast Guard header but the ball went directly to Messner, whose one-timed line drive from the left side carried just over the crossbar.

With the score tied in the first half, both squads had chances to put their team ahead, but couldn't convert. Yeich denied Aki Freeman's  point-blank shot from in close midway through the half and a minute later, senior Walter Scudder (Unionville) twice threatened, his first blast sailing over the crossbar, and he also missed on a header soon after.

Coming off consecutive shutout starts, Yeich made five saves to help the Warriors extend their unbeaten streak against Coast Guard to eight (5-0-3), while Linkous made two saves in the first half before giving way to Hickey.

Now unbeaten in its last three (1-0-2) after an opening loss at Farmingdale State College, Eastern visits Brandeis University Sunday at 1 p.m.