MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner's men's soccer team opened the season this evening against Bethel College (Ind.) at the Dalriada Soccer Complex near campus. Didier Atse's pair of goals gave the Eagles as many leads in the event, but a resilient and efficient-footed Pilots squad rallied in the 95th minute to secure the victory 3-2 in overtime.

Atse struck first in the 32nd minute when he took a pass out of the middle courtesy of Alec Daley and drilled a low ball under a diving keeper into the the far corner of the net.

The Pilots squandered a brilliant opportunity just minutes later when too many touches on the ball in front of an unoccupied net allowed Pritchard Ndaira to regain his position in the frame and stop a direct shot.

Bethel dominated possession for the bulk of the outing and their efforts finally paid off early in the second half. Scott Gidman took the ball along the far sideline and worked his way through the defense for a shot at the target. A well-placed ball snuck by Ndaira tying the event in the 53rd minute.

Faulkner wasn't held back long however, and Atse put the home team back on top just three minutes later. Daley fed Aste behind the defender allowing the senior forward to weave through the back line and lift a shot over the closing keeper.

A poor defensive decision deep in Faulkner territory with just five minutes to play set up a free kick for the Pilots. Ricardo Zambonino laced a bending shot over the wall and just out of Ndaira's reach to pull the event back into a stalemate. 

Faulkner tried to muster more energy in overtime and made a handful of aggressive attacks on the frame, but ultimately came up empty-handed.

Bethel muscled its way down the field and after a few wild shots, found itself in a corner kick situation. Ricardo Carvalho sent the ball in and Blake Bauman connected on the header for the game-winning goal.

The Pilots outshot the Eagles 27 to seven in the contest. The visitors placed 14 of those shots on frame and ultimately landed three. Faulkner put five shots on target and made good on a pair.

"There's a lot of things we can take away from this game that are positive," head coach Kyle Beard told his team after the game. "And one of those things is the loss - because it gets that out of the way. We had no exhibitions and no scrimmages. This is the first time we've played anyone this year, and we had them beat. We had a dominant team beat. We had them 2-1 with five to play and we let it get away from us. We're going to decide right now what type of effect this has on our season. It will make us stronger or it will cripple us. I'm telling you we're going to get better. You're going to get used to winning."

Ndaira (0-1) secured 11 saves and allowed three goals in the loss.

Bethel's Aaron Hunter (1-0) earned the win with five saves, while allowing two goals.

Faulkner (0-1) will travel to Talladega on Aug. 27 where they'll take on the Tornados at 4 p.m.