September 18 the Eagles scored the second most goals in program history in an all-around performance at home the day after coming out of a full-team quarantine. Faulkner hung tough with Reinhardt, but fell 2-0 to a team that now ranks 24th in the country a few days later, but fell into a very tough weekend. In two road matches against top-20 opposition on the road in venues where the program is 1-10-2 all time, the Eagles lost 12-1 on aggregate. 

Faulkner looks to get over the hump at home against Talladega and Blue Mountain. In a very top-heavy SSAC, for the five schools unranked, every match against the other four could very well be the difference in making the postseason and watching from home. Thursday and Saturday will go a long way in determining if the Eagles make their second consecutive trip to the postseason or not, facing the two new programs in the league itching to make the field in their first time possible.

TWISTING WITH THE TORNADOES

The SSAC Game of the Week pits Faulkner against an in-state foe Talladega. The Tornadoes and Eagles are no stranger to each other, but the stakes are higher than they've been before with three big conference points on the line. Of the four matches, Faulkner has won three, all by one goal and drew once. A 3-2 decision in 2014 and a 2-1 final in 2018 were the results at home while the last meeting was a 2-1 win in 2019 on the road. Guilherme Mondaini has three assists against the Tornadoes in two matches. The last two matches have combined for 68 fouls and have been fast-flying.

Both teams have had some similarities in the types of results thus far. Faulkner has lost two games by one goal and Talladega three. Pensacola Christian is the lone common opponent so far with Faulkner claiming a 7-1 win over the Eagles and the Tornadoes falling 5-2; both matches against the NCCAA were at home.

Talladega enters with a 2-6-2 record overall and 0-2 in league play while Faulkner is 1-8 with an 0-2 SSAC record. The Tornadoes fell in the 64th minute to Middle Georgia to open conference play and in the 69th minute to Brewton-Parker. They have yet to let up a first half goal in conference play. The victories came in a 7-0 victory over Oakwood and a 3-1 win over Campbellsville Univ. - Harrodsburg (Ky.). Both teams' most recent wins came Sept. 18. 

Rene Itamouna leads the way offensively for the Tornadoes with six goals. Kevin Torrente carries the assist lead with two to couple two goals. Eight different countries are represented on the Tornadoes 15-man roster. Antoine Marques leads the Faulkner attack with four goals and two assists. Two other Eagles, Matheus Rodrigues and Heming Solberg Anderson, also have two assists. Rodrigues has a goal and two assists in just three appearances. Last season's top scorer Sam Kelly scored the first goal of the season to equalize against Freed-Hardeman and returned to the lineup against William Carey and made his first start against Mobile after sitting out nearly a month after last playing against Birmingham-Southern.

BATTLE WITH BLUE MOUNTAIN

The Toppers enter the weekend 6-4 and will face No. 16 Dalton State Thursday night after picking up their first SSAC victory on the back of a 12-save shutout from Francisco Ruiz-Zuniga and a corner kick header scored by Edward Bowers. 

Blue Mountain has been exceptional away from home, winning all five road contests entering the weekend by an aggregate score of 25-3. The lone opponent in common with the Eagles is Freed-Hardeman. The Toppers fell to the Lions 4-0 at home while Faulkner lost 2-1 on the road. 

Daniel Perez paces the Topper attack with six goals and three assists, both team highs. Bruno Neves has four goals while Alfie Maynard has three. Ruiz-Zuniga has a 69.8 save percentage. The BMC attack has the second-most shots on goal per game (6.5) in the league while Faulkner (4.89) sits at the bottom. 

STAKES

As mentioned at the top of the article, the top of the league is very strong and looks like the final three seeds will be a five-way battle where every point could make all the difference. Blue Mountain sits tied for fourth with the tiebreaker over Middle Georgia with three points. Talladega and Faulkner are tied for seventh seeking their first conference points of the season. 

COVERAGE

The matches will be broadcast live on the Faulkner Sports Network. Live stats will be available for both the Talladega and Blue Mountain matches. Tickets for both matches are available here.