Clarksville, Ark.-Despite a strong second half effort from the Eagles, NCAA I Centenary College outlasted Ozarks 2-1 Friday in Shreveport, La.
The Gents scored late in the first half to hold a 1-0 lead after 45 minutes of play. The match was a different story in the second half as Ozarks (0-2-0) scored a goal, recorded six shots and had a pair of corner kicks. In the second half, Centenary would score again, this one coming in the 69th minute, to make it 2-0. However, the Eagles stormed back and found the net in the 70th minute to cut it to 2-1. Freshman midfielder Marcus Aldaba hit a screamer from 28 yards out for his first collegiate goal.
Ozarks would continue to create opportunities against the Gents, tallying four shots and one corner kick in the final 15 minutes of action.
“We played extremely well in the second half,” said head coach John Cossaboon. “This was against a team that had NCAA I players and we played five freshman during the match. It was a good effort. We didn’t back down. We had three freshmen – Marcus Aldaba, Josh Duncan and Adrian Nunez - that really played well for us.”
Ozarks totaled ten shots on the day, with Tony Santoro leading the way with three. Aldaba’s goal was unassisted. Goalkeeper Neil Thompson had three stops.
The match for the Gents was considered an exhibition match.
Ozarks will host Hendrix College September 7 at 4:00 p.m.
Topics: Athletics