November 6, 2015
LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The No. 6 seeded University of West Florida men's soccer team prevailed once again in the Gulf South Conference tournament, defeating the University of Alabama Huntsville Chargers 2-1 in overtime in the GSC Semifinal on Friday evening. The Argos will now play the winner of the second semifinal game, slated to start on Friday night between the Shorter Hawks and West Alabama Tigers. With the win, West Florida improves to 12-5 on the season while Alabama Huntsville sees its GSC Tournament efforts come to an end with a 10-6 record.
The Argonauts jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute, when a cluster around the net and mistakes by the Chargers defenders allowed sophomore Tristan Rehrig (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo HS) to score the opening tally for his second goal of the year. UWF would head into halftime with the 1-0 lead and outshot UAH 7-3 in the first 45 minutes.
Alabama Huntsville came out looking to pressure offensively in the second half and eventually scored its first goal of the game in the 63rd minute off the foot of Gunnar Oddgeir. With the score knotted at one, the teams battled until a 30 minute lightning delay caused play to halt with 8:45 remaining.
The score would remain 1-1 for the remaining of regulation after the weather stoppage, causing the Argos third overtime game in the last five contests.
Four minutes into the overtime period, the Argos pushed offensively and eventually were fouled by a Charger defender, creating a penalty kick opportunity for West Florida. Felipe Oliveira (Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway HS) was the one to take the penalty and cashed in on the opportunity, giving the Argos the 2-1 overtime victory and sending them to the GSC Final. The goal marks as Oliveira's sixth goal of the season, with five of them being the game-winning tally. Oliveira now leads the GSC in game-winning goals, as the next closest player in the conference has three.
West Florida outshot Alabama Huntsville 15-10 in the contest, while holding an advantage in corners 8-2. Oliveira led the team in shots, recording seven offensive opportunities.
Jacob Murray (West Palm Beach, Fla./Seminole Ridge HS) notched his sixth win of the season, improving his season record to 6-2. The sophomore keeper registered three saves against 10 Charger shots on the evening.
After defeating the conference's No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in back-to-back games to open the tournament, West Florida will aim for its sixth GSC Championship in the last ten years at Tiger Stadium on the campus of University of West Alabama on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT.
For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
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