Score: Liberty 3, VMI 2
Site: Lexington, Va. (Patchin Field)
Records: VMI (1-4, 0-1 Big South), Liberty (2-2, 1-1 Big South)
Up Next: Saturday, Sep. 16 - vs. Campbell (Patchin Field), 1:00 p.m.


LEXINGTON, Va. -- It was a tale of two halves on Tuesday afternoon at Patchin Field. The visiting Liberty Flames (2-2) jumped out on the Keydets with three straight goals in the first 51 minutes of play. The Keydets (1-4) trimmed the lead to just a goal with 13 minutes remaining, but the Flames withstood a flurry of VMI shots in the closing minutes to preserve the 3-2 victory in Big South Conference action.

With the win, Liberty evens its record in the Big South Conference at 1-1, and stand at 2-2 overall. The Keydets fall to 1-4 on the season, and 0-1 in conference play.

"The effort was there," said VMI head coach Ben Freakley. "We just dug ourselves into a bit of a hole and made a few mistakes we couldn't recover from. Today, we just couldn't get enough out of it to win."

The Flames started off today's contest quickly, creating several good scoring chances in the opening minutes of the game. They were finally able to capitalize in the 30th minute as senior forward Darryl Roberts put home a loose ball in front of the net to put Liberty up 1-0. Just a few minutes later, fellow senior Adrian Bumbut knocked home a rebound shot past VMI keeper Thomas Upton to up their lead to two goals.

In the opening half, Liberty outshot the Keydets by a 13-6 margin, but Upton hauled in four first half saves to keep the game within reach for the Keydets.

In the opening minutes of the second half, it looked as though VMI would get on the board as Stephen Anderson fired a rocket from the top of the box. Anderson's shot, however, hit the right post and deflected wide. The Flames quickly took advantage of the situation, as they tallied another score in the 51st minute on Roberts' second goal of the game. They now held a 3-0 advantage over VMI.

Facing a three-goal deficit, VMI got things going in the 61st minute when senior Charles Nweke fed little brother Tony Nweke on a well executed give-and-go, which resulted in Tony's first collegiate goal and cut the lead to 3-1. Later in the half, senior Addison Palanza crossed a pass to a streaking Charles Nweke, who beat Flames keeper Kevin Mahan for his fourth goal of the season.

VMI would have a few more cracks at tying the game up, including a free kick inside the Flames penalty box, but just couldn't find the equalizer. And while they didn't get the win, the Keydets ability to respond in that situation pleased the coaches.

"I was very proud of the entire team in the second half," added Freakley. "We spent a lot of time working on the ability to handle setbacks in the last couple of days, and coming back from a three-goal deficit shows a lot of confidence. It inspires me to see that from them."

In the game, Liberty held a slight advantage over the Keydets in shots at 20-18. In the net, Flames keeper Kevin Mahan recorded three saves to capture his second win of the season, while VMI's Upton grabbed a season-high six in the match.

The Keydets will be back at home on Saturday, September 16th at Patchin Field as they host Atlantic Sun member Campbell University. Game time is set for 1 p.m.


See Also:
2006 Season Stats
Career Stats
2006 VMI Media Guide