SAINT AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Flagler College men's soccer team (3-0-4 overall, 3-0-1 PBC) continued Peach Belt Conference play on Saturday afternoon and turned in a 3-3 draw against No. 2 North Georgia (5-0-4 overall, 1-0-3 PBC). The physical shootout between two of the best teams in the region generated five first-half goals.
SCORING SUMMARY
27' – Flagler –
Filip Hornburg (Assist
Hugues Iguaran)
29' – North Georgia – Rhys Shirley (Assist Pavle Radojkovic)
30' – North Georgia – Isaac Calderon (Assist Rhys Shirley and Maxwell Mitchell)
42' – Flagler –
Tristan Vendelin (Assist
Will Cain)
42' – Flagler –
Finn Weigelt (Assist
Fanele Mbangwa)
47' – North Georgia – Rafael Kawata (Unassisted)
TURNING POINT
Following 26 minutes of scoreless action, the offenses ramped up quickly for both squads. Flagler jumped out to an early lead, capitalizing on a mistake by the Nighthawks goalkeeper which set up a set piece at the top of the box. With the North Georgia wall established,
Filip Hornburg touched it to
Hugues Iguaran who dropped it back off to Hornburg for an open look around the wall. Hornburg sent a strike to the right corner of net to give the Saints an early 1-0 advantage.
North Georgia didn't waste any time responding as the Nighthawks cracked the scoring column two minutes later. Nighthawks defender Pavle Radojkovic sent a deep ball across midfield towards the attacking third. Rhys Shirley tracked it down before making one touch and beating Flagler goalkeeper
Ryan Rivas to the right of the net.
The answer proved to be a brief spark for the Nighthawks as the visitors added another goal just a minute later. Maxwell Mitchell chipped a pass into the air, which was headed by Rhys Shirley over to Isaac Calderon in front of the net and he got a head on it to put away the goal and give North Georgia its first lead of the game.
Flagler countered the Nighthawks back-to-back goals with a quick run of their own. In the 42
nd minute,
Will Cain sent a corner kick to the back post and found a leaping
Tristan Vendelin for the equalizer. Just 15 seconds later, the Saints pressure forced a Nighthawks miscue on the backline. Freshman
Fanele Mbangwa capitalized by sending a cross from the right side of the box to the back post and found the head of
Finn Weigelt who put away the goal.
After the Saints took a 3-2 lead into the break, the visiting Nighthawks got the equalizer two minutes into the second half. Rafael Kawata fielded a pass at the top of the box and made a pair of moves before striking a left-footer past a diving Rivas to the bottom right corner. Both offenses would generate multiple looks over the remaining 42 minutes, but neither found the game-winner as the match finished 3-3.
KEY STATS & NOTES
- Finn Weigelt came off the bench and netted his team-leading fourth goal of the season while logging 46 minutes of work.
- Defender Filip Hornburg found the back of the net for the second straight game.
- Newcomer Tristan Vendelin came onto the pitch and provided an immediate spark, netting his first career goal while finishing with 48 minutes of work.
- Hugues Iguaran and Will Cain dished out their second assists of the season. Rookie Fanele Mbangwa also set up the scoring with his first collegiate assist.
- Oliver Lindstrom finished tied for the team-lead with three shots, including one on goal over 77 minutes of action.
- Flagler outshot North Georgia 14-11 on the day, but the Nighthawks put six on goal compared to the Saints five.
- With the draw, the Saints moved to 18-7-3 against the Nighthawks.
UP NEXT
Flagler will return to action on Wednesday, September 23
rd when they travel to Lakeland, Florida for a non-conference match against Florida Southern. Kick off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Sunshine State Conference Sports Network.
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