PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sept. 18, 2024) - Twice in the first half, Georgian Court Men's Soccer held a lead, and twice they let it slip away. Jefferson scored two second-half goals to edge out the Lions 3-2 in Georgian Court's CACC opener. 

How it Happened
• Georgian Court led in the shot department 13-12 and put nine on goal to the Rams' seven.
• The Lions also earned four more corner kicks, 7-3.
• Each team was booked with four yellow cards. The Rams were whistled for 14 fouls and the Lions 12.
• Georgian Court got the scoring started. A hard low shot by Alessandro Cavallini was stopped, but the rebound caromed to Svante Haakansson who took a touch and fired past the keeper for the game's first tally.
• Less than a minute later, Sotirios Gkosdis kept it 1-0 with a save on Diego Guzman.
• The ball didn't stay out of the net long though. At the 15 minute mark, Guzman narrowly missed, hitting the right post. The ball bounced to Mateo Infante who kicked it into the net, passed a Lion defender.
• The Lions started to build pressure in the middle of the half. Cavallini was stopped again, but shortly after the Lions got a free kick. They used that to reclaim the lead, 2-1, as Gijs van Eif flicked the ball over the keeper and into the net in the 29th minute.
• Each team only go one shot on goal the rest of the half, but the goaltenders were up to task, and after 45 minutes, GCU led by one, 2-1.
• Jefferson started the second half quick and evened the match in the first minute as Mateo Infante found Diego Guzman for the equalizer.
• Van Eif was looking for his second of the game a minute later, but John Nelson stymied his attempt low in the middle of the net.
• The teams were chewing up the middle of the field for a while after that initial rush. In the 55th minute, the Lions earned back-to-back corner kick opportunities. Mikey Mallon got a shot off of the second, but missed high.
• After Mallon's missed, Jefferson broke out and took their first lead. It was Guzman again who took a feed up the right and fired back towards the middle and into the net.
• Georgian Court's best opportunity to tie came in the closing minutes. Sebastian Derflinger from a corner kick directed the ball toward the upper right of the goal, but Nelson was there to make his seventh and final save as Jefferson held on for the 1-0 win.

Lions Stat Leaders
• Svante Haakansson scored on two shots.
• Gijs van Eif took three shots, all on net and scored once.
• Alessandro Cavallini took three shots on net in just 24 minutes of action.
• Sotirios Gkosdis made four saves in net.

For the Rams
• Diego Guzman took a game-high five shots and scored twice. 
• Mateo Infante picked up a goal and an assist. 
• John Nelson stopped seven shots on goal.
• Rob Arnason chipped in an assist.

News and Notes
• Joseph Ficarotta surpassed 2,000 career minutes.
• Jefferson takes the 7-6 all-time lead in the matchup between these two.
• Georgian Court has surrendered exactly three goals in three straight games. 
• This is the third straight game GCU has scored first and within the first 11 minutes of action. 
• Svante Haakansson scored his first career goal. 

Up Next
• Georgian Court's season-long five-match road trip continues this weekend. They'll play out of conference against Northeast-10 foe American International Saturday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. in Massachusetts.