Fulton, Mo. – The Central Methodist University men's soccer team faced some adversity on Wednesday evening in Fulton, trailing the William Woods Owls early, before rallying for a 2-1 victory.
With the victory, Central Methodist improves to 3-1-1 on the season, while William Woods suffers their first loss of the season and drops to 5-1-0 on the year.
"It was not a pretty game tonight, however we fought back after being down a goal and didn't change course for a second," said CMU head men's soccer coach Alex Nichols. "So despite the ugly win, it was still a win and we showed resilience."
The Owls from William Woods wasted no time on Wednesday, striking to get on the board first in the first minute. The Owls claimed a 1-0 lead, following a goal from Rodrigo Alves.
Central Methodist would respond in the 35th minute, when Vitor Maia (SO/Salvador, Brazil) found Oliver Korngor (JR/Plainfield, N.J.) for the equalizer. At halftime, the score was tied at 1-1.
The second half featured a defensive battle until late. Adrian Gutierrez (SO/Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) was able to find Jackson Darnell (SO/Perth, Western Australia, Aust) for the game winning goal in the 82nd minute, to give CMU the 2-1 advantage, and eventually the 2-1 victory.
As a team, the Eagles outshot William Woods 16-10. Eagles' goalkeeper Cameron Metcalfe (SO/Durham, England) earned the win between the pipes, making three saves on five shots faced.
The Eagles will now have some time to relax and rest, before returning to action next Tuesday evening against the University of St. Mary. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30pm at Davis Field, with the women's match to precede the men's match.
For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles.
