CANTON, Ohio - The Malone men's soccer team tied with the Ohio Dominican University Panthers at home on Thursday, 0-0. The Pioneers stand at 1-8-1 on the season, and 1-5-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), while the Panthers move to 2-5-3 on the year and 2-2-2 in conference.
 
The first half started quickly as Thembani Phoya took a shot at the goal during the first minute of the match, but was unable to secure the early lead. From there, the Pioneers did everything they could to keep the ball on the offensive side during the first half. During the 31st minute, Dylan DiPiero and Nate Werthmuller both had shots on the goal, but the Panthers' goalkeeper made great saves on both attempts.
 
Malone had two more chances in the first half to earn the lead with shots by Camden Albertson and Anthony Birus during the 37th and 38th minutes, but were unsuccessful. At halftime, Malone tallied eight shots going into halftime while Ohio Dominican had six shots.
 
The action continued in the second half, as Mason Gradel took a shot during the 49th minute of the match, but was unsuccessful. Shortly after, Tiago Palhetas went for a shot in the 53rd minute to give the Pioneers the lead, but his shot was saved as well.
 
Birus and Werthmuller kept the pressure on as they took shots between the 60th minute and the 62nd minute of the match. The Panthers had a chance to take the lead late due to a penalty kick during the 71st minute but goalkeeper Sam Cipriano (1-6-1) made a great save to keep the match tied. Malone stayed on the offensive with other shots by Christopher Onye and Palhetas, but they couldn't find the back of the net in time.
 
Cipriano tallied four saves on the night. The defensive unit of Cipriano, DiPiero, Pelhetas, Ryan Ziskowski and Caleb Redding played the full 90 minutes. The offense was paced by Werthmuller with a team-high five shots.
 
The Pioneers have a short break before they host the Walsh University Cavaliers in a crosstown rival match on October 11th at Pioneer Park for homecoming weekend. Kick-off time is 4:00 P.M.