PBC Tournament - Flagler Edges Montevallo 3-2, Advances to Championship Game

EVANS, GA – Joseph Toby’s goal with under eight minutes to play broke a 2-2 tie and sent the Flagler Saints into the championship game of the 2009 Peach Belt Conference men’s soccer tournament as they defeated Montevallo 3-2 on Friday night. Toby’s goals was the culmination of a flurry of second-half activity that saw three goals put on the board by both teams combined.

Flagler, in their first season in the Peach Belt, moves to 14-5-1 overall with the win while Montevallo, also in their first year with the Peach Belt, sees their season come to a close with a 10-7-1 mark. Flagler, the #1 seed in the tournament, advances to the championship game on Sunday at 3:30 where they will take on #2 seed Lander.

Flagler got on the board first with a penalty kick after a Montevallo hand ball in the box. Mack Hough converted the attempt in the 13th minute, but the lead would be short lived as the Falcons responded.

Matt Maughn tied the game for UM less than six minutes later as he cleaned up a loose ball in front of the Flagler goal for an unassisted score. The teams went into halftime tied at one.

In the second, Flagler again got the first strike as Adam Jackson headed home a corner kick delivered by Kevin Partel. The ball sailed through a sea of diving heads until it met Jackson’s, camped out on the near post.

Montevallo responded by steadily putting pressure on the Flagler defense for the next 20 minutes, finally breaking through at the 75:38 mark. Nathaniel Foster broke free down the left side and sent a cross into Austin McIntosh, who one-touched it to Milan Pualic. Pualic deposited the shot in the right corner to tie the game at two.

Overtime loomed large in the final 10 minutes as the temperatures at the field steadily dropped into the 30s, but Flagler was unwilling to settle. Will Frandsen launched a shot that was blocked in front of the UM net, but Toby, the 2009 PBC Freshman of the Year, was there for the game-winner into the left side.

The teams were evenly matched, both taking 13 shots in the contest with eight of Flagler’s attempts on goal compared to six for Montevallo. UM goalkeeper Robert Mueller made five saves while his counterpart Matt Gilman had four.

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