LIVINGSTON, Ala. — The University of West Alabama men's soccer team opened the 2026 season with a wild finish Thursday night, battling back late to earn a 3-3 draw against the University of Tampa at the UWA Soccer Field.
The Tigers (0-0-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 17 minutes before Tampa (0-0-1) stormed back with three second-half goals. West Alabama, however, refused to go quietly, with David Nunez finding the back of the net in the 87th minute to secure the draw.
West Alabama wasted little time making its presence felt. Jesper Bakli opened the scoring in the eighth minute, finishing off an assist from Nunez to give the Tigers an early 1-0 advantage.
Just over eight minutes later, the Tigers doubled their lead. Florian Laot scored his first goal in a West Alabama uniform in the 17th minute, again with Nunez providing the assist, sending UWA into halftime with a 2-0 advantage.
Tampa came out of the halftime break with renewed pressure and cut the deficit in half in the 49th minute when Tommaso Polidori scored.
The Spartans continued to apply pressure throughout the second half, eventually leveling the match in the 84th minute on a goal from Brady Nessler.
Less than a minute later, Tampa completed the comeback when Felix Poschmann scored in the 85th minute, giving the Spartans their first lead of the night at 3-2.
The Tigers responded immediately.
With just over three minutes remaining, Yabsira Cobo set up Nunez, who found the back of the net in the 87th minute to bring West Alabama level at 3-3. The goal marked Nunez's first of the season after he previously assisted on both of UWA's first-half goals.
Despite playing the final minutes down a player following a red card to Gabriel Capocci in the 84th minute, the Tigers held on to secure the opening-day draw.
West Alabama finished the night with 10 shots, putting six on target, while Tampa recorded 11 shots with seven on goal. Dan Erez made four saves in his collegiate debut in goal for the Tigers.
Nunez led the Tigers offensively with one goal and two assists, while Cobo added an assist. Bakli and Laot each recorded their first goals of the season.
The draw gives West Alabama a 0-0-1 record to begin the campaign as the Tigers now turn their attention toward their next home matchup.
West Alabama will return to the UWA Soccer Field on Monday, August 31, at 4 p.m., when the Tigers host Texas A&M International.
