BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat men's soccer team's comeback attempt came up just short Wednesday night as the Cavaliers dropped a 3-2 decision at home to the Columbia International University Rams. With the loss at Pulliam Stadium, the Cavs fell to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action.
 
Columbia International (5-1-2, 4-0-1 AAC) sprinted out of the gates, turning the opening kickoff into a corner kick just 30 seconds into the match; however, despite the early corner and ensuing header less than 50 seconds in, it was the Cavaliers who changed the complexion of the contest's initial half.
 
Just 5:08 into the ballgame, Hugo Rodriguez handed Montreat a 1-0 lead. Ricardo Madan fed a charging Primo Garcia, who consequently whipped a left-footed cross into the box near the back post. Rodriguez made the run and raised his right boot just high enough to volley the aerial ball past the CIU goalie and into the upper netting.
 
The Rams nearly leveled the score twice after falling behind, including 118 seconds after the Cavs took the lead. A header off the crossbar and a sliding shot that nearly tucked itself inside the right post kept the Rams close, but their 1-0 deficit remainder entering the half.
 
While CIU took one more shot than the Cavaliers prior to the intermission (7-6), it was Montreat who managed to place more of those strikes on frame (4-2). Both teams took one corner kick through 45 minutes.
 
Montreat managed to hold off Columbia International's pressure for over 17 minutes in the second half, with Marius Braedstrup-Holm making two critical saves to keep the Rams scoreless; however, the mounting opposition eventually paid dividends. CIU leveled the match in the 63^rd minute and scored twice more in less than 10 minutes to flip the match in their favor.
 
Suddenly down 3-1, the Cavaliers showed no quit and even pulled a goal back four minutes after the Rams' third tally. Rodriguez drew a penalty and converted on the 76^th-minute penalty kick, but CIU limited the danger from there. Ethan Kerns tallied the lone Cavalier shot the remainder of the way as the visitors saw out the contest and took a 3-2 victory.
 
"The performance tonight was encouraging for large parts," said head coach Michael Bruce. "My hope is that we can take the positives from tonight and carry them into our game on Friday."
 
CIU commanded the second half from a statistical standpoint, outshooting the Cavaliers 10-2 overall and 7-2 on target. The Rams also took six more corner kicks (7-1) than Montreat in the latter frame.
 
After a schedule adjustment due to forecasted inclement weather, the Montreat men's soccer team now travels to Athens, Tenn. this Friday for an AAC battle against the (RV) Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs. Play is slated to commence at 2:00 p.m.