THOMASVILLE, GA — The Thomas University Men's soccer team lost an overtime heartbreaker 2-1 on Wednesday, after a header in the 91st minute gave the Warriors from Webber University (7-2-2, 1-1-2 SUN) the golden goal at Warrior Grass Field.
Thomas (4-4-1, 0-2-1 SUN) took an early lead in the first half, after solid play through the midfield saw midfielder JP Vinha and forward Regan McLaren string together multiple passes before McLaren slotted his shot into the bottom right of the net to give Thomas the 1-0 lead..
After the goal, both teams continued to create chance in the first half, until the 37th minute, when Webber International winger Marc Bonafe crossed a ball into the box that beat the Night Hawk defense. The deceptive cross slipped past both the Thomas backline and goalkeeper Stephen Douglas before bouncing into the back of the net.
The underwhelming goal proved to be enough as both teams were tied at one apiece heading into halftime.
Second half action saw Thomas control the period creating nine shots while Webber created slightly less chances at seven. Both keepers in the contest picked up numerous saves, as Douglas for Thomas tallied five in the contest, while Warrior goalkeeper Alexander Marciulonis impressively racked up eight. Both keepers were bailed out by the frame of the net, as the Night Hawks attack pinged one shot off the crossbar, while the Warrior attack fired a shot into the post and crossbar in the second half.
The physical contest produced five yellow cards and 18 fouls, as the final game winning goal came in the first overtime period off a free kick. The golden goal for Webber was possible due to a bad challenge that set up a free kick opportunity which Warrior forward Mateo Fernandez Sassoni capitalized on. Sassoni's service found the head of Webber defender Leonardo Torcigliani who redirected the ball into back of the net. The header was Torcigliani's second goal of the season, and his first game-winner as a Warrior.
Up next, Thomas is still in search of its first SUN Conference win and will host SUN Conference opponent Warner University this Saturday at the TU Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set for 10:30 AM.
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.
