Spartanburg, SC - Cape Fear men's soccer rallied to defeat conference opponent Spartanburg Methodist on the road, 3-2.

Despite a shaky start, the Sea Devils scored first.

"We started off slow but picked up the pace after the first five minutes," said assistant coach Richard Yakubu.

After taking the early lead, the Pioneers responded with two goals to take a 2-1 lead. Head coach C.W. Ponton felt his team didn't have enough focus before the game, which contributed to conceding two straight.

"I could tell in the warm up we just didn't look ready and it was concerning. We settled down after we scored, but scrambled around after they scored, and then moreso after they took a 2-1 lead."

However, the team settled down after freshman midfielder Alan Garcia Rangel subbed into the game. Garcia controlled the midfield and the team's shape, earning "Man of the Match" honors from the coaching staff.

Along with Garcia, freshman defender Logan Edwards used his athleticism and communication to lead the backline and prevent the Pioneers from scoring again.

"We have impact players who settled the game down so we could play the way we intended," said coach Yakubu.

The Sea Devils answered with goals from forwards Tyler Nelson and DaShaun Brown. With today's goal, Brown increased his total to three on the season.

Sophomore midfielder Franco Fernandez assisted on the final two goals, driving a ball across the face of the goal to find Nelson, and crossing a ball high to Brown who headed it in.

The effort was enough for Cape Fear to earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the season and in conference play.

Assistant coach Yakubu was proud of the team's effort.

"Our guys earned the victory tonight. It is a long season, [but] all we can do is to take it game by game."

Ponton felt the team could've played better, but will take the win.

"We definitely could have performed much better and we will evaluate why we didn't come ready to play today. In the end we walked away with another win, but just the same we should have played much better."

That said, Ponton has a lot of belief in his squad and their potential.

"This is definitely a team to keep your eye on this season."

The Sea Devils will play next on Tuesday, September 5th, where they will face conference opponent Patrick Henry on the road at 3 p.m.

Courtesy of Nick Denning