UWA soccer wins GSC title on penalty kicks

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For the fourth year in a row, the West Alabama Tigers have captured the Gulf South Conference Men’s Soccer Championship crown. This time the win comes over the University of Alabama -Huntsville 1-1 (5-4) in penalty kicks on Sunday at the Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex.

UWA’s record moves to 15-2-1 overall after advancing on penalty kicks. UAH most likely ends the season at 9-6-3.

“No matter what happened there today, we never broke,” said UWA Head coach Matthew Thorne. “. Getting 1-0 down to a quality UAH, they caused all sorts of problems. We stepped up. Even on the penalties, we really believed no matter what situation we were going to win. Credit to all those seniors and credit to all those players not just on the field, but on the squad.”

In the penalty kick portion, the Tigers had goals from Keegan McQueen, Jamie Cox, Alvaro Macias, Jean-Baptiste Meyniel and finally Harrison Roberts. Brad Louis blocked the shot of Tucker Watts to give UWA the edge needed for victory.

UAH found the back of the net first at the 30:28 mark when Clennett Guy scored on an assist from Khalil Bell.

It would take over 30 more minutes for UWA to find the back of the net, but the freshman Cole Webster scored his third goal of the year off an assist from Gaspard Voituriez-Donnelly with 69:22 remaining in regulation.

Both teams played each other evenly in the physical matchup as UWA and UAH both finished with three shots-on-goal throughout the match.

Meyniel was named GSC Men’s Soccer Championship MVP and Louis, Cox and Roberts were named to the All-Tournament team.

The Tigers advance to the NCAA South Regional due to claiming the GSC’s automatic berth with the tournament championship victory. The NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Tournament Selection Show is Monday at 5:30 p.m. and there the Tigers will discover their next destination.