Greeneville, TN – The Newberry men's soccer team faced conference foe Tusculum on Saturday, racing to a 5-1 lead before the Pioneers scored a trio of late goals to make things close at the end.
 
After managing just one victory from their first five conference matches, the Wolves headed into Tusculum eager to make up some ground in the standings. They took off on offense as five players scoring a goal to register a new season-high. With a four-goal advantage late in the game, it looked to be an easy win, but Tusculum roared back with a late numbers advantage to make the final score a more palatable 5-4.
 
The match got off to a quiet start, with Newberry controlling the pace of play before starting the fireworks in the 12^th minute. Sophomore Daniel Villalobos hurled a throw-in deep into the box, where Harry McDonnell redirected to TJ Paul, with the senior scoring his second goal of the season.
 
Newberry kept up the pressure after their early score, but it would be the Pioneers who got the next goal. With the Wolves passing back, junior Damien Baltide managed to steal a misplayed ball and get a clean look at the net before the defense could respond, tying the game up in the 25^th.
 
Unhappy with surrendering their lead, Newberry countered in the 29^th minute after drawing a foul in the box. Defender Harry McDonnell was tasked with taking the penalty, which he netted easily after enticing the keeper to dive in the wrong direction. The score would remain 2-1 heading into the break.
 
The second half started off with both teams showing aggression. The Wolves got their third goal after a header from Villalobos bounced off the right post and found its way to Noah Vezzu for the score, his second of the season.
 
Facing a two-goal deficit, the Pioneers played far forward leaving them vulnerable to counterattack. In the 69^th minute, freshman Moses Bakabulindi made a run to the end line and beat his man to draw the keeper out of goal before finding Uriel Zarracan with the goal wide open. The sophomore netted the ball for his first of the season, extending the lead to three.
 
With four goals, the Wolves already had a season-high, but they didn't stop there. Senior Andrew Gallagher found a soft spot in the defense in the 83^rd minute and got a low shot past the goalie for his first score of the season. Winger Dan Stryffeler provided the assist after intercepting a misplayed clear.
 
As disheartening as falling behind 5-1 may have been, the Pioneers still had some fight left in them. They got the ball upfield quickly after kickoff and scored their second goal just 23 seconds later as Lucas Romeiro found himself in position to capitalize on a ricochet off the right post.
 
The Wolves tightened up their defense after this quick score, but they would soon face a tough challenge after their keeper took exception to a late slide and was issued a red card. Newberry subbed in another keeper but were forced to play a man down. The resulting penalty was netted by junior Ignacio Alconchel for his sixth score of the season.
 
Despite playing at a disadvantage, the Wolves' defense almost kept their opponents from registering another shot, but a free kick in the waning seconds found its way to Pedro Concheso who volleyed in the easy score. With only two seconds left on the clock, the score remained 5-4 as the Wolves left Tennessee with a second conference win.
 
Next up for men's soccer is Anderson University, who will come to Newberry on Wednesday, October 13 to play under the lights at 7:30 p.m.