Winston-Salem, NC -- The Piedmont International University Men's Soccer team had their first home game of the season as they hosted Columbia International University at BB&T Sports Park in Bermuda Run, NC on Monday night. A sizable crowd came out to support the Bruins, and the team responded with great energy as they built a 2-0 lead in the first half on 5 shots.
The game started quickly with both teams getting shots off in the first 10 minutes, but it was PIU that seized the early lead in the 11th minute as Jorge Espinoza Dominguez found Marco Diaz who turned and fired into the back of the net from inside the box. The Bruins would double the lead in the 17th minute as a misplaced pass from the Rams defense allowed Diaz to score on the break.
The score would remain 2-0 until the 60th minute when CIU's Marco DaPaz got loose down the left side and fired low into the far corner to cut the lead in half. Just 4 minutes later, DaPaz would double his tally and tie the game at two apiece. Both teams would press for the lead in the last half hour, but it was CIU that found the breakthrough in the 75th minute as a quick counter-attack allowed CIU's Rahim Gordan to get behind the Bruins defense and finish past Tony Ramirez. The Rams would add an insurance goal with just a minute remaining to seal the deal as DaPaz added a 3rd, finishing off his hat trick.
"For the first game of the season, I thought we played well," explained Head Coach Craig Golding, "Going into halftime with a 2-0 lead, we really should have seen the 2nd half out but credit to CIU who kept battling, put us under pressure, and took advantage of some mistakes that we'll learn from. As I told the guys, it's not how you start the season it's how you finish."Â
The shot total for the two teams favored Columbia International by a margin of 18-9 in the game. The shot leader for Piedmont was Marco Diaz with 6 shots while Depaz tallied 8 shots to lead the Rams.
The Bruins will take the field again Saturday at 4:00 PMÂ at BB&T Sports Park as they host Warren Wilson.
