Saturday September 12th
Marietta, GA
The #18 Ranked Southern Poly Men's Soccer Team won it's 2009 Home
Opener against Lincoln Memorial University 2-1 in overtime.
It was the second match in a row that the Hornets went into
overtime and came out victorious.
The first half was a bit sloppy as both teams were feeling each
other out. The visiting Railsplitters left much space in
behind their back line, where the Hornets almost took advantage at
the 40 minute mark. Sophomore, Kouami d'Almeida, had a 1 v 1
with the LMU GK, but hit the crossbar. "I think that this
gave us some confidence. After that point, we went forward
pretty well," said Head Coach Kom Momeni.
The second half started with SPSU, Defender, Marcos Mendez scoring
at the 48 minutes mark. After a SPSU corner kick was
cleared. Mendez picked up a free ball twenty yards from
goal. He struck the ball to the far post, where it hit the
frame and went in the back of the net.
The Railsplitters answered with a goal of their own only 12
minutes later. Brito Martins quickly combined with a fellow
midfielder who caught the Hornets out of position. Brito
easily collected the ball and finished it to equalize the match.
It took the Hornets only five minutes into overtime to finish the
match. SPSU GK, Eric Ati started the counter attack when he
came off his line and grabbed a through ball. He found
d'Almeida, who passed to Midfielder, Chris Szalwinski, who passed
it one time to a streaking Felipe Lopez. Lopez touched it
once and blasted far post for the winner. It was his second
goal of the year. "It was a classic counter attack where it
went from box to box with only the finisher touching it more than
once. It was three passes and a goal," said a delighted
Coach Momeni.
The Hornets are 4-0-0 and play on Friday September 18th at
Savannah College of Art and Design. Kick off is set for 7pm.
The SPSU bench clears to celebrate their Home
Opener with a 2-1 OT victory.
photos available at
www.reactionimages.com
