MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner scored twice in the first half but saw the lead turn into a deficit in 10 minutes in the start of the second half as Cumberland handed the hosts a 4-3 loss at Billy D. Hilyer Saturday night in another chippy contest with the Phoenix.
Faulkner capitalized on a Cumberland foul after a
Asaph Silveira rainbow flick over his defender in the 26th minute when Pepé Riofrio's free kick found
Miguel Romero who tapped to
Angel Ugwumba who thundered home his third goal of the weekend.
The Eagles doubled the lead when Riofrio ran free onto a delivery from Silveira to make it 2-0 in the 38th minute.
Faulkner carried the lead and seemed to have Cumberland under wraps but the Phoenix flipped the script in the early stages of the second half when Luis Cerejo's free kick was saved by
Bradley Ironside, but Inigo Gonzalez Zaballa tapped in the rebound in the 51st.
Just moments later, Ugwumba lasered another goal into the top corner and after the goal was initially awarded to make it 3-1, the referees discussed a potential offside offense on an Eagle and claimed the attacker was obstructing the view of the keeper, disallowing the goal. Just minutes later, Harold Perea floated a through ball for Philipp Schmidtke who leveled the score in the 55th minute, completely flipping the momentum and energy in the stadium.
Things got worse for Faulkner in the 61st as Cumberland's stars connected as a through ball from Mark Donaldson found Schmidtke who found Miguel Gelabert who beat a defender and tucked away the go-ahead goal. Cumberland got one more in the 80th as Schmidtke scored a tight angle finish.
Faulkner got one back in the 87th minute with Ugwumba heading home a Caio de Luna Gomes corner kick, but the Eagles could not find another.
In all 10 cards were assessed over 33 fouls. Faulkner outshot Cumberland 15-12 while putting two more shots on frame.
The Eagles move to 1-1 on the season and get ready for a trip to Tennessee Wesleyan on Thursday at 3 p.m. It will be the first ever meeting with the Bulldogs.
