University of Mount Olive battled Pfeiffer to a scoreless tie in the first half, but two second half goals were the difference as the Trojans fell to the Falcons 2-0 in Conference Carolinas men's soccer Thursday at Misenheimer, N.C. Mount Olive played nearly even with Pfeiffer statistically, getting outshot by only a 16-13 margin.
Mount Olive (2-7-2 overall, 0-4-0 Conference Carolinas) and Pfeiffer (8-3-0, 4-1-0) each had scoring opportunities in the first half, but couldn't break through in the opening 45 minutes. Trojan forward Kevin Williams Lopez had a pair of shots stopped by Falcon goalkeeper Nicolas Dulac three minutes apart midway through the half. Mount Olive's defense withstood three Pfeiffer corner kicks in the span of just over a minute beginning in the 34th minute.
Pfeiffer broke the deadlock nine minutes into the second half as Martim Galvao scored to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Luke Janes added a header just inside the 70th minute.
The Trojans nearly got back into the match in the final minutes of the contest. Josip Granic's header off of Cody Suite's corner kick in the 82nd minute was just wide. Williams Lopez had a shot blocked in the 85th minute.
Mount Olive returns to action Saturday as the Trojans play host to King in a Conference Carolinas match-up. The Trojans defeated the Tornado in last year's regular season finale to earn the final spot in the 2013 conference tournament. Match time is 4 p.m. at Amon Field.