MT. VERNON, Ga. - Two goals in the first six minutes and two more in the last 10 lifted Faulkner to a 4-2 road win over Brewton-Parker in the SSAC Game of the Week Saturday. The win marks the first road victory in SSAC regular season play since Oct. 18, 2017 against the Barons and sealed their spot in the postseason for the second straight year. The Eagles will finish no lower than tied for fourth in the league and could potentially finish as high as third.
Tied at two with
Antoine Marques got pulled down in the box, setting the stage for an 81st minute penalty. The senior captain,
Guilherme Mondaini, who played in that 2017 match, wasted no time placing the ball down for the spot kick. The Brazilian drilled it right down the middle as the keeper Jamair Stewart dove to the left to score the eventual match winner.
Four minutes later,
Ilan Tabet pressures the goalkeeper high and forces a bad touch. The Frenchman picked up the loose ball, dribbled the netminder and rolled it into the empty net for the dagger goal.
Those clinching moments were aided by a tremendous double save from
Nic Fischer in the 75th minute. The keeper saved four shots in the win. The match started with a bang in the third minute as
Matheus Rodrigues launched a long ball to
Antoine Marques, sparking a one-on-one which the team's leading goalscorer made no mistake about for his seventh of the season. Rodrigues picked up his third assist of the year.
Oliver Keane whipped a corner to the back post in the sixth minute where Aleksa Dorovic half volleyed to the ground and in the back of the net for his second goal of the season. Keane earned his first collegiate assist.
Brewton-Parker drew level with goals in the 25th and 54th minutes.
10 separate names appeared on the scoresheet as six different goal scorers scored from four individual assisters.
Faulkner is now 2-0 in SSAC Game of the Weeks this season as a program and 3-1 as an athletic department this year.
The win gave Faulkner a 8-7-3 all-time record against Brewton-Parker who is the most played opponent. More importantly, it gave the Eagles three massive points in the league standings. A win or a draw against Dalton State (12 points, 4-1 SSAC) assures Faulkner (9 points, 3-3 SSAC) a hosting spot in the playoffs. A loss would see the Eagles postseason fate depend on the result of the Brewton-Parker (6 points 2-4 SSAC) at Middle Georgia (6 points, 2-4 SSAC) game which will kick off an hour before Faulkner takes on the Roadrunners. A draw or Brewton-Parker win would see Faulkner host the Barons while a Middle Georgia win would see Faulkner return to Cochran for the first round.
The match with the Roadrunners is slated for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.
