Orlando, Fla. ? The Stetson men's soccer team continued its winning ways Friday night with a come-from-behind victory over Wofford College. The Hatters were in Orlando to take part in the University of Central Florida Invitational and picked up the 3-1 win.
Stetson fell behind early when Wofford's Moe Kelli scored off a cross in the box by Kyle Walker at 20:44. The Hatters went into halftime down 1-0.
“It was a lackluster performance in the first half,” said Hatters Head Coach Logan Fleck. “However, we came out with the right intensity in the second half and put on the pressure”.
At the 60:49 mark senior Tanner Wolfe scored his third goal of the season to tie the score 1-1. His shot came off a quick rebound yet was listed as unassisted. The goal served as catalyst for a surging Hatters attack.
Just over a minute later Stetson's Eugene Starikov, a freshman out of Palm Harbor, Fla. Put the Hatters ahead to stay when he hammered home a corner kick sent into the box by sophomore midfielder Griffin Gilstrap. The goal tied Starikov with Wolfe for the team lead in goals this season with three.
The surge peaked in the 68th minute when Kirk Labusch scored the final goal of the game, a left footed ball that hit the underside of the crossbar and went in. It was Labusch's first goal of the season to go along with a pair of assists.
“Kirk hit a rocket!” said Fleck. “It's a good thing it didn't hit straight into the crossbar or it might have broken it. I wouldn't have wanted to have to replace it!” he added.
“Tonight's game was a tale of two halves”, said Fleck. “In the second half we played with the intensity that has served us well all year. We concentrated and we focused.”
The win was Stetson's third in a row and ran the team's record to 4-2-0 on the season. Wofford dropped to 2-3-1 with the loss. The Hatters will return to the UCF Invitational on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. and take on the College of Charleston.
