LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama men's soccer team battled back from a three-goal deficit to earn a 3-3 draw against Christian Brothers Friday night at the UWA Track and Soccer Complex.
The Tigers move to 3-5-3 overall and 1-2-2 in Gulf South Conference play, while Christian Brothers moves to 3-5-3 overall and 1-2-3 in GSC action.
West Alabama struck first just 2:21 into the contest when Florian Laot found the back of the net off an assist from David Nunez.
Christian Brothers answered quickly, however, with Lauri Orava scoring three times in an 14-minute span. Orava's first goal came at 7:22 off an assist from AJ Bowman before he added another at 8:02 with an assist from Christopher Armitage. Orava completed the hat trick at 21:34, scoring off a feed from Olivier van der Tuin.
The Tigers entered halftime trailing 3-1.
West Alabama continued to battle in the second half, eventually cutting into the deficit in the 80th minute. Oisin Griffinscored at 79:13 off an assist from Yabsira Cobo, bringing the Tigers within one.
Just over four minutes later, Cobo once again played a key role, assisting Nunez on the equalizer at 83:36 to make it a 3-3 match.
The Tigers had an opportunity to complete the comeback late after Christian Brothers' Matthias Ran De Berg was shown a red card in the 86th minute. West Alabama was awarded a penalty kick moments later, but Nunez's attempt was saved by Christian Brothers goalkeeper Grant Clothier.
Neither team could find the winning goal in the final minutes as the match ended in a 3-3 draw.
West Alabama finished the night with a 14-10 advantage in shots and placed eight shots on goal compared to seven for the Buccaneers. The Tigers also held a 6-2 edge in corner kicks. Christian Brothers recorded five saves, while UWA goalkeeper Dan Erez made four saves.
Nunez led the Tigers with four shots, while Laot, Griffin, Ethan Sharpe and Daniele Ciarlesi each added two. Erez recorded four saves in goal.
Nunez Makes UWA History
With his goal and assist Friday night, David Nunez continued to add to his place in the UWA record book.
Nunez, already the all-time leading goal scorer in program history with 31 career goals, became the Tigers' all-time leader in career points with 77 following his assist on Laot's opening goal.
His goal in the 84th minute also marked his 12th of the season.
The Tigers hit the road for their next GSC contest, traveling to face a highly ranked AUM squad on Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 p.m.
