Box Score THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Fire scored four times in the first 49 minutes and used solid defense in a 4-2 men's soccer victory over Thomas University on Wednesday afternoon.
It did not take long to get the offense going. Just 6:16 into the game,
Colton Eliasen found the back of the net for a Fire goal off an assist from
Liam Fisch to make it 1-0. Fisch then made it 2-0 SEU with an unassisted score at 29:40. Goalie
Henrique Cavalini saved a pair of shots to keep the two-goal advantage in tact before the ball went off a Nighthawk defender for an own goal and 3-0 lead for the Fire.
Cavalini had another save at 42:48 and came out of the half by catching a header for his next save (45:58).
Arthur Bello added a fourth SEU goal just after halftime off a pass from
Murilo Ramos at 48:45.
"This is a good win for the guys," said head coach
Clay Roberts. "I thought we played very well. It was our most complete game of the season so far, and against a good team who is receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll."
The Fire were opportunistic on the afternoon, as they were out-shot by the Nighthawks, 19-12, and had only one corner kick to Thomas' six. Cavalini was solid in goal, finishing the day with eight saves off the 10 shots on goal he faced.
Cameron Hawkins and Ethan Moore scored for the Nighthawks, both in the final four minutes of the game, with the last goal coming off a penalty shot with just six seconds left in the match.
With the win, SEU recorded its second win in as many matches and are now 2-1-1 on the year. The Fire victory also is the second-straight over the Nighthawks (1-2-1) after a tight 1-0 match last September.
SEU aims for three wins in a row when they hosts Ave Maria on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in the conference opener for both teams.
