ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University men's soccer team came up short on Saturday (Aug. 27) to Barry University after a furious second half rally, losing by a score of 3-2.
The Trojans came into Saturday's match trying to bounce back after a tough loss on Thursday (Aug. 25) to third nationally ranked Nova Southeastern in a hard-fought 2-0 defeat. Despite the loss, there were some silver linings from Anderson's point of view in the stellar defensive play, including a penalty kick save from goalkeeper Amos Uber.
Anderson got off to a great start in the sixth minute of action, when Diego Jaramillo fired a shot that deflected off Barry goalkeeper Mateo Torchio and onto the foot of Juan Jose Alvarez who punched it in to give the Trojans a 1-0 advantage. Just before halftime in the 39th minute, Ekow Hudson delivered a beautiful through ball to Steven Udy to grow the lead to 2-0.
However, Barry came roaring back in the second half. In the opening minutes, David Polanco escaped the Anderson defense to score Barry's first goal of the evening. A few moments later, Polanco equalized the match thanks to a beautiful assist from Miguel Rodriguez. In the 55th minute, Lucas Silva launched a shot from outside the 18 box to give Barry the lead and the eventual 3-2 win.
"That was definitely a tough loss to take," said coach Michael Zion. "I know the team would have loved to have given the trojan army a win. We really appreciate all the support last night, it was truly amazing!"
"We have a lot of new players and a lot of young guys who can take a lot away from these types of games," said Zion. "We are learning a lot about ourselves and what we need to improve on, moving forward. We are still coming together and trying to find our rhythm but I'm excited for what is to come because you can see the sparks. We will catch fire!"
The Trojans will be back in action on Saturday (Sept. 3) as they take on the Mount Olive Trojans. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m., with video available via Flo Sports and live stats on autrojans.com.
