ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University men's soccer team defeated local non-conference foe Erskine by a score of 3-1 on Saturday (Oct. 14) at Spero Financial Field. Before the match, Anderson honored seniors Santiago Arce, Wilson Garand, Pablo Sanz, Mariano Carpena, and Eloy Allimadi
Anderson entered the match with a record of 3-4-3, coming off a thrilling 0-0 draw at Mars Hill on Wednesday (Oct. 11) where goalkeeper Franco Antoniolli Funes saved a penalty kick with 15 seconds remaining in the match. He finished the game with five saves to preserve the clean sheet.
The Trojans came out and set the tone of the match early by establishing possession, but struggled in the attacking third as they had four offsides calls against them. While Anderson outshot Erskine 12 to two in the first 45 minutes, it was the Flying Fleet who found the back of the net first as they scored in the 27th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
In the 41st minute, the Trojans were awarded a corner kick. Freshman Jace Hicks took the corner and found Caleb McDowall on the far side of the box for the equalizing goal. Under two minutes later, Thiago Ibarrolla gained possession just outside the box, and fired a beautiful shot to the far-right corner of the goal to give Anderson a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
Momentum carried into the second half for the Trojans as they continued to apply pressure on the Flying Fleet defense. Caleb McDowall, who scored in the first half, broke free down the sidelines and crossed the ball into the box. He connected with Santiago Arce, who scored his first goal of the season to give Anderson a 3-1 lead. Goalkeeper Amos Uber helped guide the defense for the remainder of the match to preserve the lead as he finished with one save in the 3-1 victory.
"It was not our best start to the game but we bounced back and played well in the second half," said coach Michael Zion. "It is always good to win on senior day. We love our seniors and were happy to get them a win. Now we must go back to work as we get ready for some tough games in the coming weeks."
Anderson will be back in action on Saturday (Oct. 21) as they travel to Salisbury, N.C. to take on Catawba. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m., with video and live stats available at autrojans.com.
