MONTGOMERY, Ala. - In a back-and-forth contest just two days after a tough road defeat, the Lady Eagles (8-4-2, 3-1-1 SSAC) showed their mental strength as well as their abilities in a 5-3 win Saturday afternoon over Mobile (8-4-2, 4-2 SSAC) at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium. The Lady Eagles trailed twice in the second half but pulled away in the end to defeat the Rams for just the second time in program history.
The party started in the third minute when Mobile's keeper caught the ball just outside the 18 on the right side of the Lady Eagle attack, giving Faulkner a free kick that
Ainsley Lockwood placed perfectly into the top corner on the back post to take a 1-0 lead. Mobile answered in the 39th minute on a breakaway to tie the match before halftime.
The visitors took the lead in the 55th minute, but
Annabel Cuthbert dribbled well against three defenders before finding
Elodie Metho in the 59th minute. Metho took an outside touch with the first to beat a defender and laced her second touch high and fast past the keeper to equalize. The tie was short-lived as 58 seconds later the Rams found the back of the net off a cross and header.
10 minutes later,
Corinne Weissinger was tripped up and delivered her own free kick, dropping it perfectly to
Jessica Jaimes who headed in the third different leveling goal of the contest. Just two minutes later in the 71st,
Laia Gonzalez slid in a low cross from Metho for what proved to be the match-winning goal–her third winner in five goals scored on the season.
In the 77th,
Annabel Cuthbert delivered the dagger, capitalizing on a Mobile mistake on the backline and outrunning four Rams before slotting home her 10th goal of the season, becoming the first Lady Eagle since
Faith Pelletier-King in 2019 to score double-figure goals.
Keila Cardeiro recorded seven saves in the win.
The win guarantees that Faulkner will hold a winning record at the end of the season for the first time since 2011 when it accrued a 12-7-1 mark.
The win also brings the SSAC race to a really intriguing finish with two matches remaining for second place and the bye to the semifinals as Faulkner (3-2-1) sits in fourth place with 10 points but just three points behind Middle Georgia State (4-1-1) who they will face Thursday afternoon. Mobile (4-2) is two points ahead of the Lady Eagles. Middle Georgia's final contest will be against Dalton State that Thursday. Mobile will host William Carey before traveling to Blue Mountain. However, Faulkner is just three points ahead of Life (2-2-1) who has a game in hand and has the tiebreaker over Faulkner due to the earlier result between the two and will travel to Talladega and Blue Mountain before closing the season at home against Brewton-Parker.
The Knights, who are currently receiving votes in the national poll, come into town Thursday night at 5:00 for a massive SSAC contest.
