Photo Credit: Alex Lowery

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston men's soccer team got their first win of the 2018 season with a come-from-behind 2-1win over Stetson to close out the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic at Patriots Point.

The Hatters would strike first after dominating the opening exchanges with the Cougars unable to cope with the high defensive pressure. In the 11^th minute a corner from the left hand side found the head of the Stetson attacker who nodded from six-yards past Treston Kederer in the Charleston goal.

Moussa Diarra nearly leveled instantly with good work in the left channel. Diarra burst into the left side of the box and saw his effort fly just past the top right corner.

As the game wore on, the Cougars grew in confidence with Joao Mauricio de Souza finding space in the middle of the park in the 32^nd minute. His long ball into the right channel saw Jake Nicholson control and finish into the top right corner from 15 yards to bring the Cougars level.

Charleston came out the second half reinvigorated with Ben Tweedie narrowly missing the left-hand post with an effort from 18 yards out.

With The College pushing for a second goal, the game became stretched and Stetson nearly took advantage with an effort that hit the inside of the left post and bounced clear.

Minutes later Charleston efforts would be rewarded with a long ball into the box eventually falling to Tucker Heffron 30 yards from goal. Heffron controlled and moved forward before striking from 25 yards into the bottom left corner to give Charleston a 2-1 lead.

Kederer kept the Cougars in the lead with a strong save minutes later after Stetson had worked a one-on-one opportunity with Nicholson also going close with a 30-yard free kick that flew just over the top left corner.

In the 83^rd minute Liam Hudock almost sealed the victory with an effort from 12 yards that the Stetson keeper managed to keep out with the Charleston defense seeing the game out to earn the first win of the 2018 season.

Postgame Quotes - Head Coach Ralph Lundy
On the game…
"They really overwhelmed us the first 15 minutes. We had to withstand that huge amount of pressure they put on us, but we did, and we got through it. We kinda evened the game in the second half. We scored two great, real good goals. We had to fight, or they'd have beat us bad."

On the second half performance…
"They had us in the first 15, 20 minutes, we were doing the wrong things. We finally figured out the right things to do that leveled the game a little bit and then in the second half it was about an even game. I am so proud of my players for fighting and being strong and withstanding that pressure."

Notables
• Jake Nicholson and Tucker Heffron scored their first goals of the season
• Treston Kederer made four saves in the win
• Liam Hudock made his first collegiate start

Next Up
Charleston kickoff a five-game road slate with matches at UMBC in Baltimore, Md., and at Navy in Anapolis, Md., on Friday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (7 p.m.) respectively.