MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner (7-2, 3-1 SSAC) knocked off a top-five team for the first time in program history Saturday night in a 2-0 victory over No. 5 William Carey (6-1-2, 2-1-1 SSAC) at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium to vault into second in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings.
The Crusaders entered with the third most goals in the nation and the eighth most goals per game, but
Andre Ferreira and the Eagle defense had other ideas for them. The Portuguese goalkeeper stopped all eight shots on target with a handful of dazzling saves while
Bernardo Juca scored twice to seal the win in the first ever ranked-vs.-ranked matchup at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium in soccer and only the fifth in all sports.
Juca opened the scoring when
Leo Freire whipped in a follow-up cross to the freshman who powered a shot past the keeper on the near post. It marked the 20th assist in Freire's career.
Just 34 seconds later, William Carey had a great opportunity to equalize right away as Pedro Sao Tiago got on the end of a cross and pushed the shot the opposite direction of Ferreira, but the Eagle keeper sprung back against momentum to parry away the effort and keep the hosts on top.
In the 32nd minute,
Asaph Silveira played a long ball for
Bernardo Juca on the left wing who raced past his defender and slotted home his second goal of the game for his sixth of the year to the far post.
In the second half, Faulkner sat and defended the lead. The William Carey offense put six shots on frame to try to cut into the lead but Ferreira stopped them all. In the 49th minute, William Carey moved quickly off a short corner and found Fernado Pirry on the six yard line but Ferreira's kick save preserved the lead again in the best chance the Crusaders had the rest of the evening.
The Eagles completed a run of six matches against ranked or receiving votes teams with only two at home 4-2. Faulkner now sits at nine points in the SSAC standings, just one point behind first place Life.
Faulkner welcomes Brewton-Parker to Billy D. Hilyer Stadium Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
