LEXINGTON, Va.- One-hundred and ten minutes was not enough, as the VMI men's soccer team battled to a tie with Radford in their first Big South Conference match of the season Wednesday afternoon at Patchin Field.

Radford (1-1-3, 0-1-1 BSC) jumped on top in the 36th minute, when Romain Maudire found the back of the net from close in on a pass from Patrick Colas.

VMI (3-2-1, 0-0-1 BSC) answered in the 54th minute, when Charles Nweke converted a penalty kick after he was taken down from behind while in the box. Nweke now leads the Keydets with four goals and 12 points.

"It was disappointing (to get a tie), we played well, but not well enough to win, and I don't think they did either, said VMI head men's soccer coach Stephen Ross. "We played well for a couple of spurts, but we didn't have the composure that I know we're capable of on a consistent basis. We came in after a great week of training, and we played a very good team. These were two very evenly matched teams. We created a lot of chances in the first half, but we did not put balls away, and that came and hurt us in the second half."

The Keydets came out firing in the opening minutes, putting the pressure on Radford keeper Omar Zinoveev. Zinoveev finished the game with eight saves, with numerous fine plays on passes in the box.

Zinoveev wasn't the only keeper to play well, though. VMI's Thomas Upton also played the entire contest in goal, coming up with two huge saves in the middle of the first half to keep the game scoreless.

Both teams notched 18 shots and five corner kicks in the contest. VMI was called for 22 fouls to Radford's 16 and were whistled for five offsides calls to Radford's none.

The Keydets return to action Friday, when they travel to Washington, D.C. to take on Howard University. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.