BATESVILLE, Ark. -- The William Woods University men's soccer team got on the board first in Saturday's road match at Lyon but couldn't overcome a stroke of bad luck in the first half, falling 3-2 on the day.
Marcelo Carreiro (Curtiba, Brazil) and
Joao Paulo Parra (Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored for the Owls on the afternoon.
Both teams had decent chances in the opening quarter hour, but the Owls would strike first.
Sebastian Burich (Santiago, Chile had a shot blocked by Jordan Hall, but it fell to the foot of
Paulo Conelian (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Conelian slotted it to Carreiro who put it away from just above the penalty spot.
The game came back to level terms in the 36th minute on an own goal. Lyon whipped a cross into the box and as William Woods attempted to clear, the ball sliced off the shin of the defender and into the net.
WWU nearly held on through the first half, but a 45th-minute goal from Raoul Noumbissi left the Owls trailing 2-1 at half.
Lyon doubled its lead in the 61st minute, but the Owls continued to battle. Parra had an effort in the 66th minute whistle just high, and
Ryan Mann (Florissant, Mo.) saw his shot in the 72nd minute cleared off the line by a Lyon defender.
The Owls were eventually able to pull within one, as
Alan Matthew (Glasgow, Scotland) sprung Parra with a long ball. The junior deftly settled the ball and found the back of the net to narrow the score to 3-2 in the 73rd minute.
The action turned fast and furious down the stretch, but the Owls weren't able to close the gap.
With the loss, WWU falls to 9-7-1 on the year and is 3-3-1 in the AMC. The Owls close out the regular season schedule on Monday against Park University. Kickoff for the match, presented by Holiday Inn Express, is set for 7 p.m.
