Emmanuel College Sports Information Department

TIGERVILLE, S.C. - The Emmanuel College Soccer Lions traveled to Tigerville South Carolina on Thursday to take on the Crusaders of North Greenville University.

Emmanuel started the game brightly, as they put immediate pressure on the Crusaders and getting shots on goal early in the game. However, the first goal would not come until the 30thminute when an excellent corner from Scott Purdue found the head of junior defender Shannon Crooks who found the net from close range. This would prove to be the only difference between the two teams at the half as Emmanuel went in with the lead.

The Lions came out for the second half determined to add to their lead, and they achieved that inside just 21 seconds. Alex Wright gathered the ball and played a tremendous through ball to freshmen Martin Mitreski who fired the Lions into a 2-0 lead.

The Crusaders managed to pull a goal back in the 74th minute through Joel Johnston, but the Lions reacted well and reinstalled their two goal lead just two minutes later as Alex Wright got his second assist of the game. Wright picked the ball up from a throw in and slipped a perfect ball through to freshman Cole Redman who applied the finish.

The Lions were dealt a major blow in the 80th minute when senior Alex Wright suffered a season ending injury. Many of the players were impacted by the injury as it is very difficult to see a senior player go down. However, the players showed great mental strength to finish the game for Alex.

Coach Borchers had this to say after the game "Overall, I was very pleased with our performance. We were strong in all aspects of our game and it was great to have contributions from everyone on the team. I was also happy to see our guys persevere through some difficult circumstances."

Alex has since undergone successful surgery, but we ask that you continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he begins the road to recovery.

Get well soon Alex!