THOMASVILLE, GA — The Thomas University Men's Soccer Team won it's third straight contest Wednesday, as the Night Hawks outlasted the Knights from Middle Georgia State University 2-1.
Thomas entered the contest undefeated at 2-0 on the season, while the visiting Knights left the Rose City still in search of their first win.
Despite the final scoreline in favor of Thomas, early action in the first half resulted in TU going down as MGA Captain Callum Bryan fired a shot to the bottom corner in the 11th minute.
As the rain continued to come down, the contest became more physical as freshman Cameron Hawkins received a yellow card from a late challenge in the 30th minute.
After the yellow, tension from both teams provided a change in momentum for TU, as, late in the first half, Samir Lopez's redirected header forced MGA goalkeeper James Price to make a remarkable save, denying the tying goal as time expired for halftime.
Feeding off the momentum Thomas took to halftime, TU midfielder James Hall received the ball off an errant pass from freshman Regan McLaren in the 51st minute, and, in one swift motion, Hall turned and fired a shot top left to knot the game at one a piece.
After the reset, Thomas gave little time to recover, as the Night Hawks continued to pile on the pressure in the 53rd minute when Diego Sanchez's shot deflected off the keeper directly to Senior Cavan Daley to register his first goal of the season and put Thomas ahead 2-1.
Despite the solidity in the back, Thomas had a late scare in the 86th minute when TU goalkeeper Josh Ricord mishandled an outside the box shot from an MGA midfielder. After having the ball slip through the hands of Ricord, the Night Hawks escaped with a goal kick as Middle Georgia's second shot was fired wide.
Middle Georgia goalkeeper James Price came up huge in the contest recording five saves for his squad, while TU goalkeeper Josh Ricord continued his solid play in net tallying three saves.
In the end, Middle Georgia's hopes of ruining Thomas' home opener were kept at bay as the Night Hawks survived 2-1.
Up next for the Night Hawks will be the University of Tennessee Southern Thursday, September 16th at 6 PM EST.
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.
