Colin Little’s strike in the 39th minute of tonight’s battle with Maryville made it a 2-2 game just before the half, but the Scots found the goal they needed in the second half to hand PC a one-goal loss at home in league play.
Demorest, GA – The Piedmont College men’s soccer team came within a breath of putting the visiting Scots of Maryville College back on the bus with a loss on Wednesday night, but instead saw the visitors score with just over ten minutes to play handing the Lions a 3-2 loss at home. Picked to finish 3rd in the USA South Preseason Poll, Maryville took a 2-0 lead in the first half before Piedmont stormed back to tie it at 2’s before intermission but ran out of steam late against the Scots.
In the early going, PC applied pressure to the visiting defense as Vincent Thomas had a shot blocked just over 90 seconds into the match. Just one minute later, Piedmont’s Matthew Metzger rocketed a try from distance through the sea of orange defending the net, but his blast found the waiting arms of Maryville keeper Ben Munger who collected the shot and kept it scoreless.
Maryville quickly picked up the lead in the match held tonight at the beautiful Walker Athletic Complex when MC’s Payne Fisher got the bounce off a deflected clearance to sneak in and slot away the first goal of the game in just the 5th minute of play. The contest settled a bit after that, but Maryville would double the advantage 15 minutes later when Thomas Palmer scored this time around for MC putting away a Tim Baker pass for the 2-0 lead.
Despite trailing by a pair, Piedmont caught the break they needed to get back in it when Vincent Thomas stepped up to convert on a penalty kick awarded in the 28th minute cutting the lead in half. Only ten minutes later, the Lions would draw level when a brilliant set up from Bruce Kitchen led to a Colin Little shot that deflected off a Marvyille leg and into the Scots’ net making the score 2-2 just before the intermission.
Even at two goals a piece, the two would trade chances back and forth in the second half as PC held a slim 5-4 shot advantage in the final 45 minutes after the two each created seven a piece in the opening period. However, most of Piedmont’s chances came early in the second half while Maryville surged late finally capitalizing on a chance in the 79th minute as Payne Fisher tucked away a batted clearance on a Scots set piece.
The late score proved the decider in a 3-2 loss for PC, its 7th one-goal loss this season out of eight total defeats on the year. The Lions drop to 6-8 overall and are now an even 3-3 in conference play putting them in 6th place in the league standings with nine points through six games.
The result from tonight sets up a key weekend matchup on the road for the Green and Gold who travel to play at USA South member Huntingdon College this Saturday, October 18th. The Hawks are three spots behind PC in the league standings with five points through six games.
Kickoff for the Saturday afternoon contest is set for 2:00 pm Eastern, 1:00 pm Central.
