LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama men's soccer team opened its 2015 home season with a 3-0 victory over Nova Southeastern on Monday.
West Alabama improves to a 1-1 overall record, while Nova drops to 1-1.

"We knew we were going to have to bounce back from a disappointing outcome in our season opener last week," said UWA Head Coach Matthew Thorne. "Being at home, we know we are a force to reckon with. Nova is a top team. They went in and battled hard until the last second, but we showed great defensive discipline throughout the night."

Returning senior Clay Green put the Tigers on the board first with a goal in the 15^th minute on an assist by freshman AJ Williams. Williams quickly added his first collegiate goal in the 28^th minute to put UWA ahead 2-0 at the half.

In the second half, senior defender Alex Brown converted a penalty kick in the 63^rd minute to secure the victory.

UWA's defense stood tall as the Tigers narrowly led the Sharks 6-5 in shots on-goal. West Alabama goalkeeper Brad Louis (1-1) faced eight shots, making five saves to pick up the win. Taylor Bailey (1-1) took the loss in the net for Nova, saving three of the nine shots faced.

Green led the Tigers, accounting for three of the on-goal shots. AJ Williams followed with two.  

"I was really pleased with the whole team, especially Clay and AJ," Thorne said.

"Clay will score a lot of goals for us this year. AJ played great out on the wing and was able to squeeze out a goal as well. It's not just how they helped us offensively, but defensively as well because we really like to defend from the front. It was a fantastic performance overall. Now we have to prepare for a tough Young Harris team."

West Alabama men's soccer returns to action on Friday to host the second ranked team in the nation, Young Harris – according to HeroSports.com. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.