THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University Men's soccer team kept at bay with one of the Southern State Athletic Conference's premier teams, but the Night Hawks were unable to find an edge over Dalton State, falling 3-1 to the Roadrunners Saturday evening at the TU Soccer Complex.
 
The match was fast-paced for the first five minutes, as DSC (6-0-1) quickly scored in the second minute, but TU (0-3) was quicker to respond, tying the game 55 seconds later with a beautiful tic-tac-toe pass setup from Freshman Reese Lescher and Junior Diego Azar to Senior Mateo Arbelaez to bury the shot in the net. 
 
With a 1-1 tie, Dalton State retook the lead in the 19th minute via Roadrunner Midfielder Rogerio Castro Rodriguez from Connor Nix.  Both teams would see a fairly balanced amount of shots to finish the first half.
 
Tension on both sides continued to build, as there were at least 15 combined fouls in the half.  The Roadrunners would find a way to extend its lead (3-1) with a 71st minute goal.
 
Arbelaez finished the day with one goal with two shots on goal from four shots.
 
The Night Hawks also picked up three cards: two yellow (Diego Azar and Jason Piurowski) and one red (Joao Pedro Vinha). 
 
Thomas begins its away tour this week, beginning with Middle Georgia State Thursday.  Kickoff time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
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.