Shorthanded Rams Defeat Northwood 4-3

FAIRHOPE, Ala-- Playing at Founder's Park in Fairhope, Ala., the 12th-ranked University of Mobile men's soccer team held off Northwood 4-3 despite playing a man down for the majority of the game.

Mobile (2-0) will host MidAmerica Nazarene Monday, Sept. 3 at 4 pm.

Just 16 seconds into the game, Alvaro Pichardo danced away from a pair of Northwood defenders and beat the keeper from the top of the 18-yard box to stake the Rams to a 1-0 lead. Then, just three minutes into the game, the Rams picked up a red card, and were forced to play the rest of the contest with 10 men.

Northwood answered that score in the 12th minute, when Marcus Johansson connected on a bicycle kick, and the teams traded tallies before the half. The Rams' second first-half tally came in the 20th-minute when Luis Esteves sent a long cross to the back post, where Sam Blackburn knocked it in.

Sitting at 2-2 sixteen minutes into the final half, the Rams broke through for a pair of goals. In the 61st minute, Naissim Ayadi headed home a Blackburn corner, and in the 76th minute Pichardo slammed a loose ball into the back of the net for the clincher.

Northwood finished with a slim 19-17 edge in shots, and the game featured 25 fouls and seven cards. Xavier Audergon made 5 saves in goal for Mobile.

Pichardo leads the Rams with 10 points on the season (4 goals and 2 assists).