story by Carter Moles

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Faulkner (8-6, 3-4 SSAC) exploded for three first-half goals in tonight's Southern States Athletic Conference victory over Middle Georgia State (9-7-1, 2-5 SSAC) here at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.

Victor de Sousa headed home a scramble in the box to open the scoring in the 22nd minute and Dave Chesterman followed with a header of his own on a cross from Renan de Sousa nine minutes later to double the Faulkner advantage. 

Mateus Cesar floated a 35-yard free kick over Knights goalkeeper Petur Mar Bernhoft for the third and final goal of the evening. 

Ian Sagstetter cleared a Middle Georgia attempt off of the goal line late in the first half while keeper Diego da Silva collected five saves in his second consecutive clean sheet. 

The Eagles scattered 11 shots on target in 18 attempts. 

The Faulkner defense was stellar allowing just eight shots in the contest. 

Faulkner honored its eight seniors in a special pre-game ceremony

"It's always nice to get a clean sheet," said a confident head coach Kyle Beard after the game. "The way we came out tonight was the team putting everything together. There's not a better time to get hot." 

The Eagles will travel to Mobile to face the Rams in the opening round of the SSAC tournament on Nov. 4 or 5. Specific date and time have yet to be set by Mobile. The Rams toppled Faulkner 3-0 in their regular season matchup.