MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In a gritty, statement-making road win, current GSC No. 1 Mississippi College (10-1-4, 8-0-2 GSC) rallied from a 2-1 deficit and played the final 24 minutes down a man to defeat Auburn University at Montgomery, the No. 3 team in the GSC standings (8-4-3, 5-3-2 GSC), by a score of 3-2 on Friday night at the AUM Soccer Complex.
The Choctaws struck first with an early goal in the 5th minute, but AUM responded in the 27th minute to send the match into halftime tied 1-1. Just two minutes into the second half, the Warhawks claimed their first lead of the day, going up 2-1 in the 47th minute.
Mississippi College's challenge grew even greater in the 66th minute when Gage Sorey was sent off, forcing the Choctaws to finish the match with just 10 players on the field.
Despite the disadvantage, MC responded with the composure and toughness of a conference frontrunner. Lewis Matton leveled the match in the 73rd minute on an assist from Alvaro Pena, sparking the rally. Then, in the 85th minute, Pena delivered the decisive moment, finding the back of the net off a feed from Russell Berko to cap the comeback and give Mississippi College a 3-2 lead it would not surrender.
The Choctaws closed out the final minutes with disciplined defending and key stops from goalkeeper Cole Turner, who finished with five saves while facing 17 shots in the match.
Mississippi College Top Performers
Cole Turner
- 5 saves
- Faced 17 total shots
Alvaro Pena
- 1 goal (game-winner)
- 1 assist
Lewis Matton
- 1 goal
- 6 shots
- 2 shots on goal
Russell Berko
With the win, Mississippi College remains in first place in the GSC standings entering the final weekend of regular season play, while AUM stays in third.
