Tigerville, SC – Zac Zborovsky converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to lift the North Greenville Trailblazers to a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Panthers of Ferrum College Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
North Greenville improved to 3-5-1 overall and 3-1-1 in conference play, while Ferrum fell to 4-2-2 overall and 2-2-1 in conference play.
The Trailblazers created several early opportunities, including an Ezra Hoffman attempt that struck the crossbar in the 18th minute. Ferrum broke through first, however, when Andy Cruz scored off an assist from Ben Hooper at the 25-minute mark to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage.
North Greenville answered less than seven minutes later. Kai Goodman converted a penalty kick at 31:42 for his first goal of the season, tying things up at 1-1.
The Trailblazers grabbed their first lead just before halftime when Tyler Koppe set up Emilio Galeas at 39:59, with Galeas finding the back of the net for his second goal of the season and sending NGU to halftime with a 2-1 lead.
North Greenville continued to attack after halftime and doubled its lead in the 53rd minute. Alec Myers provided the assist to Brennen Lamont, who scored his second goal of the season at 52:17 to make it 3-1.
Ferrum, down to 10 players due to a red card, was able to defy all odds and even up the match once again.
Cruz struck for his second goal of the afternoon at 56:14 off an assist from Sawyer Lester, cutting North Greenville's advantage to 3-2. Just 58 seconds later, Hooper scored at 57:12 to complete the comeback and tie the match at three.
The Trailblazers regained control and eventually found the decisive goal in the 73rd minute. Zborovsky stepped to the penalty spot at 72:23 and converted for his fourth goal of the season, putting North Greenville back in front 4-3.
NGU protected the one-goal advantage over the final 17-plus minutes to secure its third Conference Carolinas victory of the season.
Goodman led North Greenville with five shots, putting two on goal while scoring once. Hoffman and Conor Campbell each recorded three attempts, while Galeas finished with three shots, two on goal and a goal. Zborovsky scored on his lone attempt of the match.
Leo Prosdocimo made the start in goal for North Greenville and played all 90 minutes, recording four saves. Three of those stops came during the opening half as Ferrum put four of its six first-half shots on target.
The Trailblazers will face the Tornado of King University on Wednesday, September 30th at Pepsi Stadium.
