MIRMAR, Fla. – It took just 41 seconds of overtime for the fourth-ranked Thomas University men's soccer team to collect its first Sun Conference victory of the 2015 season tonight defeating No. 18 Florida Memorial 2-1.

"Our boys battled extremely hard tonight," stated head coach Ricky Zambrano.  "They overcame a lot of obstacles in a very tough environment to play in."
 
Thomas jumped on the board first in the 28th minute when Severin Abt connected with Juan Figueroa for the first Night Hawk goal of the game.  Abt whipped a free kick across the box from the left side where Figueroa ran across the back defender and tipped the ball past the keeper into the net.
 
Florida Memorial would make things interesting as they battled back to equalize the match in the 77th minute.  Maximiliano Schendfeld, who previously hit the crossbar on a shot midway through the second half of play, landed a right-footed rocket into the back of the net.  The goal would eventually send the match into overtime.
 
While Thomas controlled the match until the final 15 minutes of play, the Lions pushed the defensive back line to its limit firing off four shots in the final five minutes.
 
Lyle Gifford, tonight's man of the match, gave the Night Hawks the victory in just 41 seconds of overtime.  Gifford received the ball on the edge of the box, cut inside to his left, and raced past two Lion defenders, firing a wide-open blast into the top right corner of the net.
 
Zambrano continued, "It does not matter whether we played well tonight.  We opened Sun Conference play with a win, now we have to shift our attention to a tough St. Thomas team."
 
With the victory, Thomas improves to 7-1, 1-0 TSC, on the year while the Lions drop to 5-4, 0-1 TSC.

The Night Hawks return to action on Sunday, Sept. 27, when they travel to Miami Gardens, Fla., to face Sun Conference rival St. Thomas.  First touch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
 
Scoring Summary
28:50 – (Thomas) Juan Figueroa, assisted by Severin Abt
77:41 – (FMU) Maximiliano Schendfeld (unassisted)
90:41 – (Thomas) Lyle Gifford, (unassisted)
 
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