BABSON PARK, Fla. (October 14, 2020) – The Sun Conference Men's Soccer Game of the Week between Polk County rivals Webber International University and nationally-recognized Southeastern University was an intense matchup that resulted in a nail-biting 2-1 win for the hometown Warriors against the Fire.

It was the first action for both teams since October 3, a span of 10 days, and it was a good start for Webber (4-4 overall, 3-3 The Sun Conference), which scored first with the lone goal of the first half by freshman Jay Skelcher-Maxwell on the assist from senior David Negrin Ruiz in the 24th minute. It was the second goal of Skelcher-Maxwell's rookie campaign thus far and was the first assist for Negrin Ruiz in his senior season.

After that, Southeastern (5-3, 3-3) continued to put the pressure on the Warriors' defense in an attempt to tie it, but goalkeeper Alex Marciulonis along with defenders Eric Longhorn and Mateo Celaya and the rest of the Webber defense did a terrific job of holding strong.

Marciulonis had to make three saves within the first 11 minutes after the goal by Skelcher-Maxwell, and despite the Fire finishing the match with 17 total shots, the Warriors' defense worked together to limit Southeastern to only six shots on goal.

Then in the 81st minute, the eventual game-winning goal came after Prince James put the ball in the box for a shot by Negrin Ruiz, whose attempt was saved but went straight to Daniel Perez, who found Dashaun Morris for a goal to the bottom left of the net to make it 2-0 and give the Warriors some much needed breathing room.

In the end, Webber finished with only five shots on the goal themselves, but made it count when it mattered. Additionally, five Warriors finished with two shot attempts as Webber had a well-rounded offensive attack.

The goal by Morris became extremely important in the final two minutes of action when Southeastern got on the scoreboard in the 89th minute to get back to within one.

The Fire then nearly tied it on one final shot attempt before Marciulonis made a diving save to his right to knock the ball out of bounds and preserve the victory as the clock ran out.

Marciulonis finished the match with five total saves and helped spearhead an incredible effort by a Webber defense against a Southeastern squad that entered the matchup No. 2 in The Sun Conference and No. 16 in the NAIA with 19 goals scored.

With what was the Warriors' third win in a row, Webber is now tied with Southeastern for third place in the TSC standings with six conference matches remaining.

Head Coach Neil Cockburn said, "The boys played with a lot of heart and determination today. Southeastern is a very tough team to beat and considering we lost 4-1 away from home earlier this year shows how much we have grown as a team. I am very proud of the lads, and I also want to give a huge shout out to Alex Marciulonis, our goalkeeper who had the save of the season that sealed us the win in the last five seconds."

Webber's three-match home stand will continue in three days as the Warriors host St. Thomas University at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 17. The home stand will then wrap up two days later on Monday, October 19, when Webber welcomes Florida Memorial University to the Warrior Grass Field.