SAVANNAH, GA. – The Jacksonville University men's soccer team traveled to Savannah, Georgia on Tuesday evening to face Georgia Southern in a non- conference match. The Dolphins (4-2-2) defeated The Eagles by a final score of 1-0.
"Really proud of our first shut out of the season. It was our first full 90-minute complete game," commented Head Coach
Mauricio B. Ruiz
Sophomore midfielder
Jake Johnson recorded a pair of shots in the 6
th and 11
th minute to create the first scoring opportunity for JU. Freshman midfielder
Mason Tunbridge recorded his first shot at 17:15 which was quickly followed by two corner kicks. Following suit sophomore defender
Joshua Araujo-Wilson shot one at the Eagles keeper that then resulted in another corner kick.
The momentum continued through the 26
th minute when sophomore forward
Inti Antunez, with a feed from Tunbridge gave JU the lead over the home team. Antunez is recognized as tonight's
Hodges Mazda Player Of The Game. The offense remained relentless as junior forward
Jose Manzo, junior midfielder
Connar Lufkin and freshman midfielder Jake Duncan- Smith each put up one more for the Dolphins. In the final seconds of regulation Tunbridge took a shot off the woodwork and Jacksonville entered halftime leading Georgia Southern 1-0.
Georgia Southern drew an early yellow card in the opening minutes of the first half and senior forward
Jesus Colombo and Tunbridge each fired shots within 8 seconds of each other. Colombo came back in the 64
th the take a shot that went out the top. Another JU corner kick resulted in a shot by Manzo to the bottom of the goal. In the 80
th minute Antunez and Johnson each tallied one more shot, both going out to the right.
Jacksonville and Georgia Southern came out even in shots on goal but it was the lone goal from Antunez that made the difference for JU. Sophomore goalkeeper
Matt Levy recorded six saves in his eight consecutive start to help secure the victory. Levy is currently ranked #1 in the ASUN for save percentages this season (.792).
"We were able to use a lot of guys tonight and save some legs for the weekend. Our guys are fit and recovering very well at this stage in the season. We will be ready for our rivalry game," Ruiz concluded.
The Dolphins will return to their home field on Saturday night when they host UNF at 7p.m.
