PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) men's soccer team suffered a 4-1 Gulf South Conference (GSC) road loss to the 21
st-ranked University of West Florida (UWF) Argonauts on Friday Night at the UWF Soccer Complex.
The Argonauts (11-1-2; 6-1-2 GSC) opened the scoring in the 17
th minute when Davi Alves scored unassisted, but SHC answered right back less than three minutes later when junior
Matthew Moreno of Northplainfield, N.J., scored off a blocked shot taken by teammate and fellow junior
Vassil Kokali of Rome, Italy.
The score would remain knotted at 1-1 through halftime, but UWF jumped back on top 2-1 in the 48
th minute when Ed Chappe collected a score. Things got tougher for the Badgers 11 minutes later as the deficit grew to 3-1 in the 59
th minute courtesy of an Eduardo Queiroz goal from an assist by Sean Hoffstatter. The Argos put the icing on the cake in the 84
th minute with a fourth goal coming from Teavon Spencer off a Rafael Godoi to Bernardo Torres assist combination.
SHC sophomore keeper
Alessandro Erdelyi (5-6) from Turin, Italy, collected three saves against 16 shots and four corner kicks by the Argos. His counterpart on the other side of the pitch, Jihad Gomes of UWF, made four saves versus 12 shots and five corner attempts by the Badgers.
"We played very well in the first half," said SHC head coach
Steve Wieczorek. "But against an opponent of UWF's quality there can't be any little mistakes or they take advantage. Unfortunately, that's what happened tonight. We have to go forward and pick up points in our final two home games to give us a chance to make the playoffs."
SHC currently trails the University of Montevallo (6-7-1, 4-4 GSC) by a half game for the final spot in the GSC Tournament
The Badgers (6-7, 4-5 GSC) next host the Mississippi College Choctaws (7-1-4, 6-0-2 GSC) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. on Library Field.
