THOMASVILLE, Ga. - The Thomas University Night Hawks found the back of the net twice in the second half against the #3 University of Tennessee Southern Firehawks at the TU Soccer Complex on Thursday, but ultimatelty came up on the wrong side of a 3-2 contest. After finding themselves in an early 2-0 hole, the Night Hawks scored twice in just over three minutes to level the match. The Firehawks responded in turn with the game-winning goal in the 74th minute.
Neither team could make a push through the first 40 minutes of action as
Freddie Pickford and
Luke Guerrier's shots couldn't connect.
Paul Mitchell (1-1) was tested with four early shots faced in net before a UT Southern corner kick. The Firehawks' header sent the visitors in front, and one final save on
Jake Wright's attempt kept a 1-0 UT Southern lead entering the halftime intermission.
Elements persisted throughout the match, and the clouds opened up entering the second half. In the 60th minute, the visitors doubled their advantage. Five minutes later,
Ethan Moore curled a shot to the top bins on a free kick for his eighth score of the campaign. Not three minutes later,
Juan Manuel Molina surveyed the pitch and sent a long pass to a streaking
Daniel Mauldin; the sophomore broke away from his defender for the equalizer.
Down the stretch in the 74th minute, the Firehawks found an open winger who connected across the netting for a 3-2 UT Southern lead. The Night Hawks could only muster one more shot from Pickford the rest of the way, dropping the tight conference match to the third-ranked team in the NAIA.
Mitchell made ten saves in his second start of the year.
Thomas (4-8, 0-6 SSAC) returns to home conference action at the TU Soccer Complex at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 against the Blue Mountain Christian University Toppers. Last year, the two teams worked a scoreless tie in Mississippi.
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