Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan fell in a hard fought battle against the Emmanuel Lions in a 2-1 final score on Thursday evening.
The Warriors took 10 shots with three being on target. Feren Núñez, Brody Schroeder and Leonardo Flores each had shots on goal. Schroeder picked up the lone goal for the Warriors. Both Flores and Alberto Esquivel had assists.
Southern Wesleyan totaled more corner kicks than Emmanuel as they had seven compared to the Lions three. Bradley Fuchs made his first collegiate career start in goal and played the complete ninety minutes. Fuchs totaled four saves in the game.
Game Vitals
Final: Emmanuel 2, Southern Wesleyan 1
Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-5 / CC 1-3) Emmanuel (3-3-2 / CC 2-3-1)
How It Happened
The Lions went on the attack quickly as Pau Nel-Lo Recasens took a shot on the goal, but the freshman goalkeeper, Bradley Fuchs, contained the ball and sent it up the field. Alberto Esquivel collected Fuchs pass and tipped it back to Leonardo Flores who sent the ball up the field to Brody Schroeder. Schroeder then went on a break away run and passed all the defenders to face the Lions goalkeeper Natxo Faus one-on-one. The sophomore forward won the battle as he sent the ball into the net to give the Warriors the early advantage. Southern Wesleyan continued to press the Emmanuel defense as Schroeder, Lucas Di Marco and Feren Núñez each sent the ball toward the goal. However, the Lions were not deterred as they prevented the Warriors from extending on their lead. With fifteen minutes left in the half, Emmanuel retaliated as Luciano Rundles sent the ball up to Tomas Pollacchi to score and tie the match up. Southern Wesleyan would not be discouraged as Flores and Núñez sent the ball toward the net, but their attacks were thwarted by Natxo Faus each time. With seconds left in the half, Alberto Hernandez Meca scored the second goal of the game for the Lions to give them a 2-1 goal advantage going into halftime.
Southern Wesleyan went on the attack early as captain Noah Koch sent a rocket toward the net, but it just missed the goal. Emmanuel countered with several more shots by Tomas Pollacchi and Andrew Rowe, but the Warriors defense blocked each attack. The Warriors countered with attacks of their own off the feet of Leonardo Flores, but they could not get the ball past the Lions back wall. Jordan Jeffers went on the offensive for Emmanuel as he drilled the ball toward the net, but Bradley Fuchs dove on the attack to prevent the Lions from extending on their lead even further. Despite late attacks on the goal by Lucas Di Marco, the Warriors fell to the Lions in a 2-1 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will travel to Rome, GA on October 12 to take on the Shorter Hawks at 3:30 pm. They will remain on the road on October 16 as they take on the Erskine Flying. The Warriors next home game will be on October 19 as they host the Chowan Hawks at 3:30 pm.
