BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - - Pedro Moreira provided the heroics for the Wilmington University men's soccer team in a 2-1 last minute win over host Bridgeport in the final game of the UB Classic on Saturday night at Knights Field.
Trailing for a short period of time, Wilmington (1-1) retaliated with two goals for the comeback victory. Bridgeport (0-2) scored in the 36th minute of the first half, but squandered the lead 59 seconds later and never regained the lead.
Moreira sparked the victory with a goal in the 88th minute, making a long solo run through the defense and capped the run by scoring his second goal of the tournament, giving Wilmington its first win of the 2012 season.
For his two goal effort, Moreira earned a spot on the 2012 UB Men's Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team. First-year goalkeeper Chad Jenkins and first year member Todd Woll also earned All-Tournament honors.
"That was a great win for our guys," head coach Nick Papanicolas said. "After losing to them last year, that was a bit of a revenge game for us. Pedro's individual effort on his game-winning goal was fantastic. I'm really proud of how we responded when we went down in the first half. I'm proud of the comeback."
After Bridgeport's Juan Galarza tallied on a cross to the far right side of the penalty box 35:17 into the match, the Wildcats responded 59 seconds later to re-knot the score. Freshman Ian Wattanga recorded his first collegiate score for the Wildcats at 36:16 on a cross from Kresimir Nurnberger. The game would remain tied heading into the half.
The second half was heavily favored by the Wildcats, outshooting the Purple Knights, 6-2, for the stanza. But it wasn't until the 88th minute that the Wildcats would breakthrough, in large part to Moreira's individual effort to win the game. They also outshot the hosts, 11-8, for the game.
Jenkins recorded two saves to pick up his first career win in goal for the Wildcats, while Knights' goalkeeper Augustin Prados made four stops for the game.
Wilmington remains on the road this week as the Wildcats open their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference schedule at Dominican on Thursday. The game is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
