LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – In a grueling hot, midday matchup where temperatures hit triple digits on the pitch, the Thomas University men's soccer team escaped an early goal by Talladega to win an overtime thriller 2-1.
 
The Tornados, who placed three of their seven shots on goal during the match, scored early in the contest when forward Rilton Junior placed a left-footed shot into the far corner of the net in the ninth minute.
 
Both clubs made several attempts at the goal throughout the remainder of the opening frame, but the Tornados controlled the tempo having the ball in Thomas' end of the field for the majority of the half.  Talladega took their 1-0 lead into the intermission.
 
The Night Hawks, who fired off 22 shots in the match, would hit the equalizer in the 69th minute.  Junior midfielder Juan Figueroa accurately placed a corner kick in the near side of the box where sophomore midfielder Jonathon McGrath headed the ball into the upper right hand corner of the net.
 
Thomas continued to push the tempo on offense firing off a total of 12 shots in the second half.  While their push narrowly missed on two occasions where Figueroa and McGrath both hit the crossbar with shots, the Night Hawks' tempo and defensive play by the Tornados pushed the game into extra time.
 
Just five minutes into the second half, junior Eric Persson launched the Golden Goal into the back of the net to give Thomas the 2-1 overtime victory.  Persson chested a pass from defenseman Andrew Berg, made a side step to his left, and after two dribble steps fired the winning shot just past the keeper's outreached arms into the back of the net.
 
With the win, the 11th–ranked Night Hawks improve to 2-0 on the year while Talladega drops to 0-2.
 
"[Today was] a disappointing performance, but we did enough to secure the victory," stated head coach Ricky Zambrano.  "We need to learn from today in order to grow as a team."
 
The Night Hawks are back in action on Sat., August 29, as they to return to Thomasville for their home opener against Middle Georgia State.  First touch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.  Join the Night Hawks for an in-game barbecue sponsored by Goalline Ministries.  The first 400 fans in attendance will receive free hotdogs and chips.
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU men's soccer team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksMSocc.