MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner rolled to a 6-1 win over the Night Hawks Thursday night in the SSC Men's Soccer Quarterfinals at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium to make the program's fifth SSAC semifinal match.
Faulkner broke down a stingy Thomas defense in the 21st minute when a ball floated in by
Bernardo Juca for
Angel Ugwumba hopped in the box where Ugwumba battled with a defender before a missed clearance from the Night Hawks dropped the ball to the striker's feet for a rocketed finish.Â
Five minutes later, Thomas winger Will Nye picked out Danny Mauldin who leveled the match. Shortly after that, the Eagles found the match winner as
Asaph Silveira pressed high and won the ball before passing to Ugwumba who's backheel found Juca for the freshman's seventh game winning goal of the year.Â
Ugwumba quickly doubled the lead in the 32rd when José Lucca floated a ball near the top of the box. The striker beat the keeper to the ball and headed it over and into the net from 20 yards out for his 25th goal as an Eagle and 12th on the season.
In the 41st, Pepé Riofrio delivered another free kick goal, curling it into the bottom right corner from about 30 yards from the center of the goal.
The second half was chippy, seeing 10 yellow cards, one resulting in a red card for the Night Hawks in the 57th minute. Less than a minute later,
Matheus Magnusson floats a long ball to Silveira who beat the keeper to the ball and dribbled into space for an open net finish. The Eagles added another off an own goal forced by a
Konsti Witte cross in the 73rd to make it 6-1.Â
Faulkner will take on either 4-seeded Dalton State or 5-seeded Xavier Thursday afternoon at 4:30 at the Emory Folmar Soccer Complex for a spot in the final.
