Lakeland, Fla. --- In their 2023 season opener, the Mississippi College men's soccer team secured the 3-2 win over Florida Southern on Saturday (September 2^nd). The Choctaws used a three-goal surge in a span of less than two minutes in the first half to launch them to victory.

It was Florida Southern who struck first into the scoring column in just the second minute of the game as defender Linden Ruben delivered a deep ball from beyond midfield to Kyle Carr of the Mocs, who chipped it over MC's last line of defense to take the 1-0 lead.

In the 9^th minute, the Choctaws began their scoring spree. Sergio Garrido delivered a well-placed through ball down the left sideline for All-Preseason member of the GSC Guilherme Santos, who found the perfect angle on his shot taken from the near the sideline of the box. 

Just over a minute later, a ricochet straight into the air from a Mocs defender saw Sergio Garrido deliver the perfect volley strike from outside the box to make it 2-0 on the highlight goal. Finally, just 30 seconds later, Cal-Bakersfield transfer Atli Steffanson snuck in a shot from the box in the bottom corner after his previous one was sent directly back to him to make it 3-1 in just 12 minutes of play.
The remainder of the first half and the majority of the second was physical as seven yellow cards were issued, four for MC and three for Florida Southern. The Mocs had one last spurt of offense before the final whistle blew, however, as Joe Maxwell scored on a set piece play.

On the night, it was the Mocs that outshot MC by a 9-11 margin, but the Choctaws had a 5-3 advantage with shots on target. Additionally, the Choctaws' three first half goals marked the most in a half by the MC offense since their 4-3 over Louisiana Christian on October 17^th of last year.

The Choctaws (1-0) have their final match of their Florida road trip as they visit Eckerd on Monday, September 4^th at 7 p.m. CT.