ROME, Ga. – The Shorter University men's soccer team opened conference play Saturday afternoon with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Erskine at Ben Brady Field.
The win improves the Hawks to 2-0 and marks the first time Shorter has won consecutive matches to open a season since 2022.
Shorter battled with the Fleet throughout a scoreless opening half, as neither side was able to gain an advantage. The Hawks broke through just seconds into the second half when Joao Beer found the back of the net following a beautiful dish from Jesus Tapia. Erskine quickly responded with a goal of its own to even the match, but the Hawks answered in the 56th minute. Luis Merida found Austin Cornett, who converted to put Shorter back in front, 2-1.
The Hawks added to their advantage in the 76th minute when Gabe DeHart scored his second goal of the season off another assist from Tapia.The Fleet made things interesting late, scoring in the 82nd minute to pull within one. Shorter's defense held firm in the final minutes, however, as the Hawks fended off Erskine to secure the 3-2 victory.
"I am incredibly proud of how hard they worked today, especially with the heat," said head coach Roberto Hernandez. "It's not unusual to stop every ten minutes, so we prepared for that during the week. Our guys did their best to mimic that in training, and they came out here and worked hard. I think we created the better quality chances. Erskine is a great opponent; they fought the entire way, but ultimately, our guys fought hard to win it at the end. We are ready to face Emmanuel."
UP NEXT
The Hawks will return to action Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when they travel to face Emmanuel in another conference matchup.
FOLLOW THE HAWKS
For complete coverage of Shorter men's soccer, follow the Hawks on social media at @ShorterHawks on X and @shortermensoccer on Instagram, or visit the official home of Shorter Athletics at goshorterhawks.com.
