MOUNT PLEASANT, South Carolina – Junior midfielder Alhaji Tambadu scored the first two goals of his college career to lead Georgia Southern to a 4-2 victory over UNCW in the men's soccer season opener for both teams at the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Soccer Classic at Patriots Point on Friday evening.
The Eagles took a very quick 1-0 lead in the opening minute of the contest as sophomore Adam Davie converted a penalty kick past redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Jonathan Gomes.
But, the Seahawks answered just under four minutes later when
Gabriel Cabral netted his first goal of the season on a 24-yard free kick into the upper corner of the goal.
Georgia Southern scored twice in the first 20 minutes of the second half to extend its advantage to 3-1. After Tambadu netted an unassisted marker in the 46th minute, sophomore Joshua Deane converted a pass from redshirt junior Cristian Medina for his first goal of the season.
Freshman
Parker Norris trimmed the Seahawks' deficit to 3-2 with 14:26 remaining in regulation when he scored off an assist from fellow freshman
Cannon Tootle.
However, Tambadu secured the victory for the Eagles when he knocked in a rebound of a shot from redshirt sophomore Jarvian Wigfall with 5:21 remaining.
Sophomore Jokull Blaengsson made six saves in the victory for Georgia Southern, which was outshot by a 21-8 margin. Gomes tallied one save in the loss for the Seahawks.
Up Next: The Seahawks complete the opening weekend of the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 1, when they face Stetson at the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Soccer Classic.
