Fighting Tigers register 5-1 road triumph over Oxford
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Sparked by goals from freshman Simon Cobian (Flowery Branch, Ga.), Josh Fines (Farmborough, England) and Connor Heydon (New South Wales, Australia), the Andrew men's soccer team, receiving votes in the most third versions of both the NJCAA and NSCAA coaches poll stormed from a 1-0 opening half deficit to a 5-1 victory over Oxford College of Emory University on Saturday night at the Atlanta International School.
The victory snaped a three game skid by the Fighting Tigers (8-3-0) as they doubled the most wins in a single season since before the 2012 season. Oxford (5-4-0) had its two match winning streak broken in the loss.
"We were very disappointed with the opening half deficit," Andrew head coach Rudy Roediger commented. "The team responded in the second and worked very hard for the victory. We had great performances all over the field. We attacked and defended well. Not many people can spend all day on the bus, have the venue changed twice and the kick off delayed nearly two hours to come out with a victory. We couldn't be any prouder of the team."
The Fighting Tigers outshot the Eagles 28-20 including 16-11 on goal. Heydon and Cobian directed the Andrew attack in stats, recording two goals each. The pair of doubles marks the first time on the season that two Andrew players netted multi-goals in the same match. For Heydon, the NJCAA Division I No. 10 ranked goal scorer in 2015 it was his fourth such game.
Sophomore George Cunha (Pompano Beach, Fla.) recorded five saves in the opening half while freshman Josh Kennedy (Placida, Fla.) came on to record five stops in the second half to pick up his first collegiate victory. Killian Glann made 11 saves for the Eagles in the loss.
Oxford struck early when Cheng Xi Duan took advantage of a defensive miscue and slotted a skiping shot past Cunha to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead after 18 minutes.
Oxford continued to put pressure on the Fighting Tigers through the opening 45 minutes as they took a 1-0 lead to the break. The Eagles pressure saw them hold a 15-8 lead in shots during the first half.
The second half saw the tides turn as Andrew brought an invigorated pressure. Freshman Lalo Magana (Gainesville, Ga.) intercepted an Oxford pass and burst down the right wing. The West Hall High School graduate cut back and beat two defenders before slotting the ball to his fellow 2015 AAA Georgia High School State Championship teammate, Simon Cobian. Cobian did well to control the ball inside the Oxford penalty area before unleashing a thunderous strike to the back post to draw the match level (1-1) five minutes after the break.
Cobian wasted little time as Andrew continued to put pressure on Oxford. He picked the ball up just inside the Eagles half and played a dangerous ball over the defense and past a rushing Glann to sophomore Daniel Bile (Norcross, Ga.). Bile collected the ball on the end line and beat his defender before slotting it across the box towards Heydon who swung and missed from close-range. The team's leading scorer put his head in his hands only to hear the crowd erupt as Cobian came crashing in on the back post to emphatically finish the play he started to give Andrew a 2-1 lead in the 55th minute.
In the 60th minute freshman Jerry Celestin (Orlando, Fla.) slipped in Heydon who buried his 10th goal of the season to give Andrew a 3-1 lead.
Ten minutes later freshman Josh Fines (Farmborough, England) collected a service by sophomore Marcos Soma (Coconut Creek, Fla.) and placed it past Glann for a 4-1 lead in the 70th minute.
A flowing effort by the Andrew team concluded the scoring in the 80th minute when Ramsis Martinez (Gainesville, Ga.) became the third West Hall High School alum to collect a point on the night when he combined with fellow freshman Jack Alker (Wellington, Fla.) to free Heydon for the final goal and a 5-1 victory.
The boys in Blue & Gold return to Hord Athletic Complex to host Itawamba CC (Miss.) on Tuesday, Sept. 29 for a 3 p.m. kickoff.
NOTES
Ranked: The Fighting Tigers ranked as high as No. 16 in both the NJCAA and NSCAA Coaches polls this season breaking an 11-year drought.
Stats: Out of 142 NJCAA Division I men's sides earning stats in 2015 the Andrew attack ranks No. 8 in assists (37), No. 18 in goals scored (35) and No. 21 in shots (159) on the season.
Breaking Good: With its 2-1 season opening victory over (RV) Patrick Henry CC on Aug. 21 Andrew College broke a streak of 23 straight losses to NJCAA Division I opponents that lasted 1,054 days. The previous victory came Oct. 1, 2012 when AC defeated Georgia Military 1-0.
Scoring: The boys in Blue & Gold matched the most modern day scoring in a single season (35) with six regular season matches remaining. The mark of 35 was set in 2013 when Andrew went 4-10-2 overall.
Top Opposition: Andrew College is 2-0-0 against teams receiving votes in the 2015 NJCAA Division I Preseason National Poll.
Close: The Fighting Tigers are 2-0-0 in one goal games.
Road Boys: The Fighting Tigers are 4-1-0 away from Hord Athletic Complex including a perfect 2-0-0 in neutral site matches.
Newbies: 28 newcomers have appeared in at least one game for the Fighting Tigers.