LYNCHBURG, VA— Magnus Thorsson's free kick goal in the 107
th minute lifted Winthrop to a 2-1 victory at Liberty, Saturday afternoon in the Big South Conference opener for both teams.
The victory is the second straight for the Eagles as they improve to 3-5 on the year while Liberty falls to 4-5.
Nil Vinyals made a nice spin move near the corner of the 18-yard box that drew a foul and a Winthrop free kick to the left of Liberty goalkeeper Jeremy Lee. Thorsson stepped over the ball as everyone crowded to the left as if the ball will be served to the middle, but Thorsson had other ideas as he ripped a low, curling shot around the right side of the wall and the ball bounced and hit the inside of the post and into the net as Lee made a diving effort for the save.
Liberty grabbed the first lead early in the game with a goal in the third minute on a shot from Kyle Carr just outside the top of the 18-yard box as his shot ripped into the upper half of the right corner of the goal. Carr was trailing the play as Kevin Mendoza let one goal inside the box but it was blocked out by a Winthrop defender. Carr ran onto the ball and struck it first time for his first goal of the season.
Winthrop responded in the 13
th minute when
Max Hasenstab netted his third goal of the season. Hasenstab was set up with a one-on-one from an angle with Lee and he slipped a shot past Lee to tie the game at 1-1.
Each team had a chance in regulation to take the lead but the goalkeepers came up big on both sides. In the 83
rd minute Gatzke set up Hasenstab with a one-on-one again as he tried to slot the ball into the near post but Lee stuck out his right hand and deflected the ball wide. Then about 20 seconds later
Charles Coulson had a good look inside the box when a shot from
Jordan Stoddart was deflected across the mount of the goal and as Coulson struck it first time from about 10 yards toward the open goal, but a Liberty defender was able to get his body in the way to block the shot.
Liberty's opportunity came in the 79
th minute when Mendoza headed a cross from just outside the six-yard box that forced a diving save by
Fabian Broich and then has Mendoza got a shot off on the rebound Broich got a hand on it as it sailed over the end line for a corner.
Winthrop finished with a 24-9 advantage in shots and had 13 shots on goal. Broich finished the game with three saves while Lee ended up with 10.
