Life University Athletics

Score: Life U 3, Thomas 1
Records: Life U, 6-1-1 (2-0-1 SSAC); Thomas, 4-3-0 (0-2-0 SSAC)

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — The No. 7 Life University men's soccer team picked up a second-straight SSAC win, taking down the Nighthawks of Thomas on the road. The Running Eagles took a strong 2-0 lead into the break before adding insurance in the second frame.

The Nighthawks opened the contest with an early look, requiring action from keeper Pawel Wolny. The Running Eagles returned the favor with back-to-back attempts, putting the Thomas keeper to work. Life U cracked open the scoring shortly after as Enrico Burigotto buried an opportunity after receiving the ball from Andrei Apostu.

Battling through the middle minutes, Burigotto struck again in the 35th minute. The senior put home his second of the contest to make it 2-0.

Heading into the break, there was plenty of action on the pitch. Life U lead the shot count 10-5 while narrowly trailing in corners 4-3. Wolny made four saves in the frame.

Out of the break, Thomas dominated the early minute. The Nighthawks finally got on the board in the 55th minute, pulling the contest back within one. Andrei Apostu responded directly off the kick off for Life U, putting the lead back to two. Off a dynamic run into the box, Apostu finished a ball than was bounced around the box to make it 3-1.

Things went from bad to worse for the Nighthawks in the 74th minute when Tim Berger slipped in behind the backline on a counter, forcing the Thomas defender to drag him down. The defender was assessed a red card, putting the Nighthawks down to 10 men.

Firmly in control of the contest, Life U saw out the remaining minutes and closed the contest with a 3-1 road victory. 
 

"Wasn't our best performance, but when you win those as well, then we're in good shape," said Head Coach Alex Pama. In the first half, we scored some good goals but also made some defensive errors, inviting unnecessary pressure. We didn't fully recognize the opportunities our opponent gave us. We brought on some fresh legs in the second half but still conceded a tough goal to make it 2-1. Thankfully, we quickly brought the margin back to two when we scored a great goal to make it 3-1. However, even against 10 men, we didn't stick to our principles enough to put a wider margin on the scoreboard. We will have to sharpen up and stick to our game plan this coming Saturday as we face our next conference opponent."