ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop men's soccer tried to rally from a three-goal deficit but fell short in a 4-3 loss to Liberty, Saturday evening in the two teams Big South Conference opener at Eagle Field.

The loss drops the Eagles to 3-4-1 on the year while Liberty improves to 4-3-1. Winthrop will step away from conference action on Tuesday, Sept. 27 for a 7 p.m. home contest against fifth-ranked Charlotte.

"Another thrilling game against Liberty but not the start we needed from the opening minute," said Winthrop head coach Daniel Ridenhour. "Liberty is a quality team that made us pay tonight for our lack of focus. Conference games bring with them an intensity which we responded poorly. We made some adjustments at halftime and were able to compete and push the game. Overall, there has to be more desire to compete when you pull on a Winthrop jersey. We all need to put our heads down work harder and prepare for a difficult game against Charlotte."

Winthrop trailed 2-0 at the half and fell behind 3-0 just a minute and 29 seconds into the second half but battled back to give itself a chance to earn a result. Kevin Mendoza gave the Flames a 2-0 lead with goals in the 21st and 32nd minutes. He set up the third goal, which was scored by Tresor Mbuyu in the 47th minute.

Senior James Skonicki got the Eagles on the board first with a goal in the 52nd minute as he received a pass from Rasmus Arousell, turned and fired a shot near the top of the box into the lower left corner of the frame. Skonicki struck again in the 60th minute as he hammered home a full volley off a long Jogvan Jacobsen service to make it a one-goal game. However, Liberty answered quickly as Martin Agredo made it 4-2 in the 63rd minute to keep the Eagles chasing the game.

Arousell cut the deficit to 4-3 in the 72nd minute when he received a ball, turned on a defender into the inside of the field and curled a shot into the top right corner from about 25 yards out.

Liberty had a couple of chances to put the game away but junior goalkeeper Kenneth Perkinson made two big saves to keep the Eagles in the game. Perkinson finished with six saves while Liberty's James Knoebel finished with one.