MARIETTA, Ga. --- The 18th-ranked Life University men's soccer team fought back and forth with the No. 1 team in the NAIA today at Lupo Family Field, a squad missing a couple of starters giving the Mobile all they could want before falling late via a 3-2 score.

Life U (7-1-1, 1-1-1 SSAC) suffered its first loss of the season today while hosting No. 1 Mobile (7-1-1, 2-1-0 SSAC). Much like it played out on the field, statistically it was a very close game, the Rams leading in total shots taken 21-15, but shots on goal being even closer at 9-8. Life U led in corner kicks at 6-5, while the teams tied in saves at 6-6. The referee's whistle called on Life U more often for fouls, 18-13, but Mobile received the only two cards of the game. 

The Running Eagles dictated the game's momentum in the first half, outshooting the Rams by a total of 8-5. It took slightly less than 20 minutes for Life U to get on the score board, Luciano Diaz collecting a ball from Thierry Jules that he ripped into the net to give the team a 1-0 lead. A penalty kick opportunity immediately following the game resuming for Mobile saw the contest knotted back up at 1-1 just a few seconds later. The Running Eagles attack saw them exit the first half with a 2-1 lead, Diaz recording his second goal of the game in the 33rd minute off a pass from Callum Jenkins. 

The Rams came out of the break much more aggressive, taking 16 in the period to keep pressure on the Life U defense. Despite the pressure put on them, the Running Eagles made it take Mobile nearly 20 minutes to even the game back up at 2-2. With less than 12 minutes to go in the game, the Rams kicked in the go ahead goal. Just a couple minutes later, Life U had a golden opportunity to tie the game back up and possibly force a tie on a penalty kick, but the Rams' goal keeper correctly guessed the direction and earned a save. From that point, the Running Eagles only took one more shot, falling by a score of 3-2.

After the conclusion of the contest, head coach Alex Pama said, "Tough loss for the lads. They deserved more but this was a good lesson. At some point in the second half we had to play with a 70% of underclass man line up on the pitch versus a very experience opponent. Proud of how the men battled and even almost tied the game up right before the end." Pama finished, looking forward to their next contest, "Now we heal up and next Thursday we play a crucial away game and must win. It looks like some of our injured players will return and that could not come at a more welcome time for the squad."

The Running Eagles travel to Faulkner for their next game, facing the Eagles Thursday at 8:30 PM EST.