PULASKI, Tenn. - Faulkner dismantled No. 3 UT Southern in a 6-1 win Monday afternoon on the road at Grissom Pitch in an SSAC matchup, earning the highest ranked victory in program history as well as setting a new record for wins in a season, improving to 12-2 overall and 8-1 in the conference.
Faulkner started furiously against the Firehawks, firing six shots on target in the first 11 minutes but William McGinn collected five saves and had teammate help with another to keep the Eagles off the board. However in the 22nd minute, the wall broke through
Bernardo Juca. The freshman received from
Leo Freire and
Angel Ugwumba inside the box and rolled home his 14th goal of the season, setting a new program record for single-season output and putting Faulkner in a 1-0 lead. For Freire, the assist set the program's single-season record with nine.Â
In the 25th,
Matheus Magnusson's pressure forced a bad pass from UTS and the defensive midfielder picked up the ball and found Juca on the left wing running in on goal. Juca beat the keeper and doubled the lead with a composed finish.Â
Six minutes later, Juca passed to Ugwumba who beat the last defender and rolled home an easy finish to make it 3-0 for his 19th career goal. Juca's assist was his ninth of the season and tie the recently rewritten high water mark for single-season assists in the program.Â
In the first half, Faulkner outshot the Firehawks 19-1 and forced UTS into 11 saves.Â
In the second half, Faulkner struck twice in short order with a rocket from
Gunner Blanchard for his first goal as an Eagle in the 63rd minute before
Julio Cesar converted a penalty in the 65th. It was Cesar's 21st career goal and his first from the penalty spot.Â
UT Southern got a consolation goal in the 76th minute, but Cesar put a keeper-deflected cross from Santiago Magaña away in the 79th to make it a five-goal difference again.Â
Faulkner outshot UTS 26-10 with a 18-3 advantage in shots on goal.Â
The Eagles now sit with the most points in the SSAC with 24, but still one point behind Life in max point potential for the regular season title.
The Eagles can finish no lower than fourth in the SSAC with two matches to play and have locked up hosting an SSAC quarterfinal match to be played Oct. 29-31.Â
Faulkner will take a seven match win streak into the Battle of I-85 to take on Point (1-7-5, 1-5-1 SSAC) at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
