Columbia, KY – An evenly matched contest took place between #16 UC men's soccer and #23 Cumberland University for the Mid-South Conference Semifinals. An early lead for the Patriots was not enough for the Phoenix offensively charged second half, putting an end to UC's MSC Conference Tournament run.
Altogether, UC had four shots with three being on frame. Salvador Martinez recorded the lone goal of the evening, followed by Karl-Emil Andersen and Shuma Sasaki tallying one shot apiece with one on frame.
In the first six minutes of play, Martinez quickly worked his way up the field for the first shot of the day that just barely missed and hit the middle of the crossbar.
In the 22', the Pats take an early 1-0 lead with a pass a cross the box from Jesus Macaya to Salvador Martinez for the lone goal of the day.
Both teams were back-and-forth until the final seconds of the first half, where a save from UC goalie Pawel Wolny maintained the Patriots 1-0 going into the half.
At the start of the second half, a free kick for the Phoenix and miscommunication amongst the Pats saw the Phoenix with their first goal of the game and evening the playing field, 1-1.
For the next 20 minutes, the field is evenly matched when a shot from the Phoenix was saved by Wolny. As the Phoenix started to fire on offense, they scored their second goal of the evening in the 62nd minute to take an 0-2 lead.
The Phoenix continued to take shots and record shots on frame, but Wolny recorded three saves in the second half to keep the Phoenix at bay.
In the final minutes of play, the Pats were aggressive and looking to save their season. A header shot from Shuma Sasaki was saved by the Phoenix and ultimately not enough, leaving UC to fall 1-2.
The loss for Cumberlands ended their hopes of making the MSC Finals for the fourth straight season.
The team will now await their fate for the NAIA Opening Round with the selection show slated for 1PM ET on Monday November, 13 on the NAIA Facebook page.
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