ARKADELPHIA, AR- The Ouachita men's soccer team began the 2011 season with a bang, defeating the Drury University Panthers by a final score of 2-1.

The battle between Ouachita and Drury was hard fought from start to finish. The game started off with a lot of defense, both teams fighting to take the momentum early. Drury worked hard to move the ball into Tiger territory and Jesse Williams scored the first goal of the game at the 13:29 mark of the game making the score 1-0 Drury.

It didn't take the Tigers long to answer, as Sergiu Postolache pushed the field alongside Andrew Davis, netting his first goal of the season on Davis's assist. The Tigers would take the momentum after that goal but were unable to capitalize due to offsides calls on consecutive trips into Panther territory.

After halftime, the Tigers hung on to the momentum, continuing to get shot opportunity after shot opportunity before putting themselves ahead on a spectacular header by JT Goodrum. Goodrum was assisted on the go-ahead goal by Nathan Gay, who threw the ball in from the sideline, placing it perfectly for the header.

After the header by Goodrum, the Tigers kept attacking and although they did not score again, they controlled the game from then on, pushing themselves to a 1-0 start to the season and beginning their three game home stand on a positive note. Wayne Smith was in the goal for the Tigers, collecting 3 saves during the game.

The Tigers continue their homestand on Saturday, when they face off against Lynn University at 4 p.m.

-Josh Fink, Sports Information Director