Late Goal Lifts Reinhardt Over Koalas

WALESKA, GA- Columbia Men's Soccer struck first on Saturday, but Reinhardt would have the last word, scoring a 78th-minute goal to escape with victory, 2-1.

THE RECORDS:

Reinhardt improves to 2-2-3 overall and 1-2 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play with the win. Meanwhile, the narrow defeat drops the Koalas to 4-3 overall and 1-2 inside of the AAC.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

Coming off a tough loss that saw the Koalas give up five unanswered goals in the second half on Thursday to No. 20 ranked CIU, Columbia came out and took control early.

With 24:00 showing on the scoreboard, Ethan Poungthana fed a pass to Dan Stryffeler. From there, Stryffeler knew what to do as he tallied his eighth season goal. The Koalas held onto the 1-0 lead until just before the half when the Eagle's Rafael Pais finally got the hosts on the board with an unassisted score.

The second half played out close to the vest, as neither side could seemingly break the tie. Eventually, Reinhardt got a go-ahead score from Maxime Correia in the 78th minute, another unassisted tally.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Reinhardt outshot the Koalas 32-8 and did not allow any corner kick opportunities. 
  
  
• In his second start, Brayden Garcia saved 10 of the 12 shots on goal he saw. 

UP NEXT:

The Koalas will return home on Wednesday to take Truett-McConnell at 6 p.m.