In a thrilling conference matchup on Saturday afternoon, the Benedictine Mesa men's soccer team battled back to earn a 2-1 victory over Arizona Christian, thanks to a late game-winner from
Gergo Varga in the 88th minute.
The match opened with both teams creating early scoring chances. Benedictine's
Edwin Arias fired the first shot of the game just under a minute in, while goalkeeper
Moritz Ae was immediately called into action, making several key saves throughout the first half to deny the Firestorm attack. The Redhawks' best opportunity in the opening 45 minutes came in the 43rd minute when
Ryder Skolka broke free in the box, but his effort was stopped by ACU's keeper
Emiliano Vega, keeping the score level at halftime.
Arizona Christian struck first in the 57th minute when
Raul Aranda found the back of the net off an assist from
Harry Lea-Oddy, giving the Firestorm a 1-0 lead. The Redhawks quickly responded just three minutes later as
Varga buried a shot assisted by
Niels Derks to even the score at 1-1.
Both sides continued to push forward in search of the winner, with Ae making several crucial saves to keep Benedictine in the match. The breakthrough came in the closing moments when
Ryder Padgett delivered a perfect pass into the box that found
Varga, who calmly finished for his second goal of the day and his second of the season, sealing a 2-1 comeback win for the Redhawks.
Key Performers:
Up Next:
Benedictine Mesa returns to action on October 30
th as they take on Life Pacific on the road.
