COLUMBUS, Miss. – The W men's soccer was unable to hold onto its first-half lead, eventually losing to University of the Ozarks, 5-3, in a non-conference tilt at the Roger Short Soccer Complex. The Owls fell to 0-2-0 on the season, whole the Eagles improved to 1-1-1.
It was MUW which actually broke on top first. Just 8:49 into the contest, senior
Jordan Ware displayed his athleticism to control and net a pass from teammate
Sebastian Araya that put the Owls ahead, 1-0. That lead stood until the 33rd minute when U of O knotted the match a 1-1.
The Eagles' equalizer didn't last too long as, just 28 seconds later, MUW newcomer
Drake Ballard punched in his first goal as an Owl from seven yards in front to make it 2-1 in favor of the hosts. That score stood until the intermission.
The second half was not as kind to The W, however.
Ozarks scored three unanswered goals in the final 45-minute segment. The Eagles tallied in the 50th, 60th, and 77th minutes to take a 4-2 advantage.
MUW still kept the pressure on and that paid off at the 83:17 juncture, when Araya has able to register his first goal as an Owl, cutting the deficit to 4-3 with better than six minutes to play.
The W was unable to level the match in the waning moments, however, and UO iced matters with an insurance goal in the 89th minute of play.
MUW will host Piedmont University on Wednesday (Sept. 9/2 p.m.) in another non-league matchup at home.
