JACKSON, MS- The Majors played most of the second half a man down, but held off the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels 2-1 on Sunday at Harper Davis Field.
Lukas Elmhammar converted a penalty kick set up by a foul on Evan Kodabandeh in the 51st minute and that proved to be the game winner.
"Proud of how we played today," coach Steve Voltz said. "We responded in the second half against a talented Oglethorpe team."
The Petrels struck first on Sunday, scoring 12 minutes into the match. Carlos Gaston converted a crossing pass and snuck one past Johnathan Huebbe, who was sensational on Sunday.
"They pressured us well throughout the match on Sunday, they earned that goal," Voltz said. "But Johnathan was phenomenal today, he made some saves that I don't know how he got to."
The Majors got the equalizer in the 25th minute after Petrel keeper Vaughn Moore fumbled away the ball right to Kodabandeh who tapped it into an open net. It would be 1-1 at the half.
In the 51st minute it was Kodabandeh again that provided pressure on Moore who got caught between playing the ball or the defender on a long pass. He did neither and took out Kodabandeh in the box, resulting in a yellow card and then penalty shot that Elmhammar converted.
Moments later, Daniel Staursky earned his second yellow of the match and was sent off, forcing Millsaps to play a man down for the final 38 minutes.
"I loved our effort after the card in the face of adversity," Voltz said. "We will learn from that and continue to mature as a team, but I loved the defensive effort."
Oglethorpe thought they had gotten the equalizer midway through the half, but were ruled offside. The Petrels continued to pressure to tie the match and Huebbe made a tremendous kick save on a deflected ball in the 82nd minute, one of seven saves on the night for the sophomore. Millsaps would not surrender another prime chance and held on for the victory.
The Majors improved to 9-5 overall on the season and 3-1 in conference play. They will travel to Sewanee on Friday to take on the Tigers. Match time is set for 730pm, following the women's match.
