Nashua Eagles forward Brendan Davis gets tripped up by Villanovencia's Alex Benedith during Saturday night's season-opening 1-1 tie at Rivier's Merrill Field. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – They’re definitely younger. Quite possibly faster.

Are they better? That’s the question for the Eagles of the International Soccer Club of Nashua, as they led 1-0 at halftime in their UPSL opener Saturday night at Rivier University’s Joanne Merrill Field only to settle for a 1-1 tie with Villanovence FC.

The Eagles wasted no time putting the ball in the net on Bryce Borletto-McCray’s header off a corner kick just 2:18 in for a 1-0 lead.

But that was it. Their next best chance, really, was in the final minute on a Nick Cardenas bullet right into the chest of VFC keeper Jimmy Gonzalez, who held on.

Cardenas, coming down left wing, got a great feed from teammate Jose Ochoa but just couldn’t convert.

“I saw him getting into that space and they left me that lane wide,” Cardenas said. “He gave me a great ball, I took a touch and tried to go far post. It was a great save from the keeper. Overall I thought we played a very solid game.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys but a lot of great guys. There’s a lot to take away from this game and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”

One thing they need to take away is to keep the pressure on for two halves. Down 1-0, Villanovence took control early in the second half and got the tying goal when Edwin Suazo tapped in a rebound into an empty net after an initial save by Eagles keeper Dominic Kunha just 5:36 into the second 45 minutes. That sent Kunha to the ground and he couldn’t recover in time.

Kunha had four saves on the night, one a spectacular left hand reach in the first half. Another came on a breakaway during that second half pressure, robbing VFC’s Braeden Arias.

“I think the other team came out fired up,” Eagles new coach Eusabio Marote said. “We withstood their pressure, we defended well. But the only thing that was lacking, in the last five minutes we decided to turn it on, and had a couple of chances. I just think it was a little too late.”

“We figured it out at halftime,” VFC coach Carlos Villanueva said. “We had a lot of opportunities but we didn’t finish. We’ll keep working, because this is our first game.”

Nashua’s Bryce Borletto-McCray (2) heads the ball off a corner kick for a goal in the Eagles’ 1-1 tie Saturday night with Villanovence. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

A couple of things worked against Nashua ISC. Their catalyst on offense for most of the first half, Brendan Davis, tweaked a previously injured ankle before the intermission and had to put the warmups on, done for the night.

“He’s coming off an injury, and was starting to feel it a little bit in his ankle,” Marote said. “We decided that first game of the season probably not the best (time) to force him. It had to be done.”

Now Nashua didn’t lose much because of the tenacity of his replacement, Nashua South alum Jose Ochoa, for the rest of the half. But in the second half he barely got any touches until Marote moved the fan favorite from left wing to the right, and Nashua’s offense came alive in the final minutes.

“They pressuring me more closely and keeping a close eye on me,” Ochoa said. “Especially (the left) side. Then we switched, and I got a little more freedom on the right side.”

That created the pressure Marote wanted.

“We should have (created pressure) right out in the second half, I feel it could have been a different result,” Marote said. “It’s still good to see the guys were fighting until the last minute, but it needs to be sooner.

“With time it will get better and I think we can adjust that.”

“It’s a whole new team,” Ochoa said. “Much to improve on, but a lot of things to look forward to.”