Due West, SC - The Southern Wesleyan University Men's Soccer team broke their Conference Carolinas losing streak on Wednesday evening by defeating Erskine College in a 3-1 final.

The Warriors recorded 19 shots with nine being on target. Diego Hernandez led the team with five shots, followed by Ryan Rodriguez and Dillon Bennett with three, and Brody Schroeder and Gabriel Melendez with two. Goalkeeper Marco Iniguez played all 90 minutes in net, tallying five saves. 





Game Vitals:

Final: Erskine College 1, Southern Wesleyan University 3

Records: Erskine College (0-11, 0-8), Southern Wesleyan University (3-9-1, 1-7)





How It Happened: 

Wednesday night was a much-needed win for this Warriors team. They were the better team for 90 minutes, and left no doubt on the final score. They started creating chances very early in the game, getting Dillon Bennett and Brody Schroeder involved early. In the opening minutes, the Erskine defensive line played extremely high in comparison to many of the other Conference Carolinas teams allowing Feren Nunez to play some beautiful balls over the top to get Ryan Rodriguez into space. However, it wasn't SWU that struck first in the match. An awkwardly bouncing ball appeared to hit the hand of a Warrior in the box, and the referee awarded the spot-kick to the Flying Fleet. Hudson Lewis stepped up and put it home to give Erskine the lead in the 16th minute. That goal worked as a wake-up call for the Warriors, and 15 minutes later they would even the score. The combination play between Dillon Bennett and Brody Schroeder helped result in the equalizer. As Diego Hernandez picked up the ball on the right wing, Bennett made a run wide to create space for Hernandez to find the run of Schroeder, who had a perfect touch and a beautiful chip over Evan Zizek to even the score. And just five minutes later, it was Bennett again causing trouble for the Flying Fleet defense. He picked up the ball just outside the box, made a move around the outside of the defense and into to box, where he was fouled from behind and earned another penalty kick. Again it would be a new taker for the Warriors, and this time, Noah Koch converted to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead which it would take into the locker room. 

The Warriors came out in the second half with good energy, dominating in both possession and chances created. They came close a couple of times through Ryan Rodriguez and Diego Hernandez, but nothing clear-cut until the 71st minute. Southern Wesleyan had a brilliant counter-attack as a looping ball from Noah Koch was inch-perfect to the foot of Brody Schroeder and again the freshman converted his chance to give the Warriors some breathing room. They continued to dominate possession for the remainder of the game, to seal the victory and the points on the road in Due West. 

Solomon Pitts was named the Warriors' "Spark Plug of the Game", a team-selected award for a player who brought high energy and an impactful performance. Pitts was very good in defense for the team on Wednesday, helping contain a vibrant Erskine Offense to earn to win. 




What's Next: 

The Warriors have one game remaining on their road trip, as they travel to Young Harris, GA on Saturday, October 14th. Following that, they host Mars Hill in a non-conference match on Wednesday, October 18th.