ROCHESTER, N.Y. – With time winding down in the second half on Senior Day, the Roberts Wesleyan University soccer team needed a goal to ensure that the final regular-season home match for the 10 players honored before the game did not end in a loss.
Dylan Ruiz delivered.
Again.
Ruiz, a senior forward and the career goal-scoring leader at Roberts, converted a penalty kick with 12:51 to play to lift the Redhawks into a 1-1 tie with Molloy University in an East Coast Conference game. The goal was Ruiz's 10th of the season and the 60th of his career.
The point keeps Roberts (7-4-3, 3-1-3) in fourth place in the ECC standings with one game to play and enhances the Redhawks' chances of earning a berth in the conference's postseason tournament.  Molloy (7-5-3, 5-0-2) is at the top of the table with 17 points.
"We were a little bit out of sync early on, so our second half was much better than our first," Roberts coach Scott Reber said. "We knew that we had to get points today and we got a point, so we will take it."
Molloy struck early as J.P. Rodriguez found himself alone in front of the goal after a throw-in and finished for a 1-0 lead 5:02 into the game.
Roberts generated a few chances, including a near-miss on a header by Ruiz with 29:15 to play, before Tamas Nagy was taken down in the box with 12:58 to play to set the stage for Ruiz, who drilled his attempt under the bar on the left side of the net.
"Dylan pops up and rises to the occasion," Reber said. "He's just so composed over the ball and seems to ignore the pressure."
Pressure is something the Redhawks were able to generate in the final 45 minutes on a windy afternoon.
Both Ruiz and captain Marc-Anthony Blackburn said they were confident the Redhawks would find a way to even the score.
"As soon as we came out for the second half, I could tell that a goal was coming because we had so much momentum," Blackburn said.
"That second half, we came out with some fire and with some grit," added Ruiz.
Senior Jared Gibbons also prevented Molloy from doing any further damage by making seven saves.
In addition to Ruiz, Blackburn and Gibbons, the Redhawks also recognized seniors Ollie Ardle, Josh DaSilva, Aaryn Massy, Pau Guillem Marzal, Andrew Putnam, Hunter Salisbury and Alex Perez Vega in a pregame ceremony.
"This is a special group of guys," Roberts coach Scott Reber said. "They have each contributed to the growth of the program and leave it in much better shape than when they arrived. They have established a culture of success that will be carried forward by the younger players for years to come. I will miss this group, but know they are prepared for the next step in their lives and I can't wait to see where they land."
The Redhawks play a non-conference match at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Salem University before concluding the regular season at ECC foe Mercy on Oct. 29.