Men’s Soccer comes out victorious over No. 24 Tennessee Wesleyan
WEST POINT, Ga. (Sept. 21, 2022) - The Point University Men's Soccer returned to the pitch at River Bowl Stadium Wednesday evening to face No. 24 Tennessee Wesleyan in an Appalachian Athletic Conference showdown to win the matchup 2-1.
Both teams came into the match on a mission to get the upper hand as the respective opponents started fast on the offensive end. The quick start went into the Bulldogs' favor as they picked up the first goal in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Skyhawks would remain unfazed as they stuck to their plan as a team to continue to fire away at goal. The team plan for Point went into their favor as an assist from Zane Whitehead set up a goal by Brandon Cervantes to tie the game 1-1. Both teams continued to show their will to score nearing the half, but the score remained tied.
Coming to the second half, Point showed consistency on offense by continuing their plan to execute with teamwork and shots on goal. The Bulldogs held their ground to keep the ball from going into the net until Max Paul Busnel scored another goal for the Skyhawks to take the lead 2-1. On defense, Point turned up the intensity by only allowing shots on goal after their score. As the final buzzer sounded, Point picked up their first win of the season and in AAC play.
In the box
Point took 12 shots with four on goal. Busnel took three shots on goal and converted for one to score. Cervantes also contributed a shot on goal, which added to the score for the Skyhawks. Niels Van Gool made six saves for Point with only one goal allowed.
Coach's Quote
"The biggest mindset for us was that we had to keep doing our job," Head Coach Mark Wozniak said. "We know we haven't had the best results coming into the game, but we believed in our ability and what we could do on the field. Wozniak added that he informed his team to stay focused because it is a long game. "We needed to stay focused because it's a long game. You can get distracted and down after getting down early in the game. We knew we needed to have a game plan and stick to it, so at halftime, it was honestly more of the first half, but we had to bring more energy and intensity. I felt like we really did bring that in the second half."
Up next
The Skyhawks will return to action as they travel to Barbourville, Kentucky, to face Union College in an AAC matchup Saturday, Sept. 24. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.