MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner opened Southern States Athletic Conference action this evening when it hosted cross-town rival Auburn Montgomery here at John Mark Stallings Field. The Warhawks scored twice in the first half and fended off a late Faulkner serge to clinch the league win 2-1.

AUM's Alan Harwell scored an unassisted goal in the 24th minute of the event to give the visitors the lead.

Harwell then orchestrated another scoring effort with just three minutes to play in the half. The forward crossed the ball to Elvar Sigurdsson who drilled a downward bullet into the corner netting giving AUM the 2-0 lead heading into the break.

The Eagles broke their scoring silence in the 60th minute when Martin Mutanda found Brighton Masuka with a long pass down the middle. Masuka hammered a hard shot that deflected off the goalkeeper's gloves for the score.

The home team organized several aggressive attacks late in the contest, but couldn't send the event into extended play.

"You guys played hard tonight," head coach Kyle Beard told his team after the game. "That's how you have to come out every time. If you do that you're going to win games. I promise you. You're looking like a team boys. We still have room for improvement, but this is what I expect from you every time we step on the field."

The weaponry was lopsided with AUM outshooting Faulkner 21 to nine. Goalkeeper Pritchard Ndaira was the key component in keeping scoring in check. Ndaira (1-5-1) took the loss, but tallied eight saves while allowing a pair of goals.

Faulkner dropped to 1-5-1 on the year and sits at 0-1 in the league. The Eagles host Martin Methodist in another SSAC showdown at the Dalraida Soccer Complex on Saturday at 3 p.m.