YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Nationally ranked No. 24 Young Harris College came from behind to deliver West Alabama men's soccer its first loss of the season 3-2 in overtime on Sunday.
Young Harris improves to 3-0-1, while West Alabama drops to 3-1 overall following its best start in program history. It was the first road test for the Tigers this season and kicks off a three match road stretch.
"To lose any game in overtime is very tough to take," said UWA head coach
Matthew Thorne.
"It's even tougher when the lads put everything on the line and deserved to get something from the game. Young Harris is a top team and I can see them going a long way this season. I am very proud of our lads for their effort and determination throughout the whole game."
The Tigers jumped to a 1-0 lead in the 8
th minute on a goal by
Thibault Charmey; his sixth goal in four matches. Charmey's goal came by way of a cross pass by
Emmanuel Mondestin.
Defender
Alex Brown found the net for the second time this season on a corner kick from
Brian Meadows two minutes into the second half to build UWA's lead to 2-0.
Lewis Hilton put the Mountain Lions on the board for the first time in the 69
th minute. His goal snapped a streak of 304 minutes in which the Tiger defense had not allowed a goal. Paco Craig delivered the equalizer in the 80
th minute to send the match into extra minutes.
Eight minutes into overtime, Khurram Shazed sealed Young Harris' victory with an unassisted game –winning goal.
Mount Lion goalkeeper Jordan Bradshaw (2-0-1) took the win, totaling two saves in four shots on-goal.
Brad Louis (0-1) replaced
Lavares Stone in the Tiger's net during overtime. Together both keepers faced 15 shots on-goal.
The Tigers remain on the road to take on nationally ranked No. 11 Saint Leo Friday. The match is set for 7:30 p.m. Live stats will be available at
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=57569.
"We will look to bounce back next week," Thorne said. "Nothing changes for us. Our focus is now on Saint Leo and we look forward to the challenge."
