Pensacola, FL—The Eagles went into halftime of their home opener trailing 2-1 to the LaGrange College Panthers. A big second half comeback led by forward Nick Standridge sent the game into overtime, but the team was unable to overcome several late defensive miscues in their 4-3 defeat in 2OT.

Despite coming out flat in their last contest, the Eagles jumped out to a quick start in last night's home opener against the LaGrange College Panthers. The team would take 10 shots in the opening period. However, in the 12th minute, a goal by Panthers forward Jude McEvoy gave the Panthers an early 1-0 lead in the contest.

The two teams continued to battle throughout the remainder of the 1st period of play, but it was the Panthers who scratched across a late goal to head into halftime leading 2-0 over the Eagles. The two teams took a combined 17 shots in the opening period.

At halftime, Head Coach Joseph Liwosz said, "We played well and controlled the game in the 1st half. We made a couple of mistakes and they [LaGrange College] capitalized on them."

In the 2nd half, the Eagles hoped to find their rhythm and get back into the match. A penalty in the box by Panthers midfielder Qua Tucker gave the Eagles an opportunity to get within one goal. On the ensuing penalty kick, Nick Standridge ripped a shot that was saved by the lunging Cory Aycock. Despite the goalie's efforts, the ball caromed back to the feet of Standridge who buried the shot to make the score 2-1.

Just 15 minutes later, the Eagles would score the equalizer. A free kick from just outside the 18-yard line by Paul Stewart would go untouched into the back of the net to knot the score up at two. The two teams would continue to battle as the remaining minutes of the 2nd period ticked away, but in the 87th minute, disaster struck for the Eagles. A goal by Panther's forward Nick Huberty gave his team a 3-2 advantage with just two minutes remaining on the clock.

The Eagles, desperate for the a tying goal, had to rely on their seasoned front line made up of Nick Standridge and Jake McClelland, teammates since their youth. A beautiful through ball by Jake McClelland landed on the feet of Nick Standridge, who buried the ball into the back right corner of the net to tie the game at three with just 35 seconds remaining.

Both teams headed to overtime with hopes of walking away with a hard fought victory. Despite putting multiple shots on net in the following two overtime periods, the Eagles were unable to capitalize. In the 107th minute, forward Jude McEvoy would score his 2nd goal of the game off a misplayed ball in the Eagles box to give his team a 4-3 victory over the Eagles.

After the game, Head Coach Joseph Liwosz was pleased with his team's performance. He said, "The guys performed a lot better than we have over the last couple of games. Our communication was much better, but ultimately we still need to continue to work to make that area stronger."

The Eagles (0-3) will take the pitch again on Saturday against NCAA DII Georgia Southwestern State University at 4:00 pm on Eagle Field. The game will be livestreamed here.