The Georgia Southern men’s soccer team pulled out a hard fought 3-1 win over Florida Atlantic University Tuesday, breaking their two-loss slump.

The Eagles looked a little shaky in the beginning of the first half as they had trouble possessing and keeping control of the ball. They played a panicked game which cost them loss of possession to FAU who were passing circles around the Eagles for the first 15 minutes of play.

A quick one touch goal from freshman forward Adam Davie in the 22nd minute of play seemed to snap the Eagles out of their funk as from there GS moved on with momentum.

The momentum build paid off as senior forward Javier Carbonell found the back of the net off a quick use of his shoulder to finish a corner kick in the 30th minute of play.

The score remained the same throughout the first half and the Eagles headed into the locker room with a 2-0 lead over FAU.

The Eagles came out in the second half with the same momentum they finished the first with, this time being the ones passing circles around their opponent. They were sharp on the ball and quick to play all while building the frustrations of FAU.

As the score remained 2-0 for the majority of the half the game grew to be an aggressive one as they referee had to speak to many players separately and gave out two yellow cards in the second half.

Carbonell sealed the Eagles’ win when he tallied his twelfth goal of the season off a one-on-one breakaway shot with at the 77th minute of play.

The Eagle defense was solid throughout the night. Led by sophomore Gonzalo Talavera and junior Justin Little, the pair provided a solid line of defense with only one hiccup as FAU was able to find the back of the net in the last 10 minutes of play.

“I think we saw a response,” GS Head Coach John Murphy said to gseagles. “We weren’t happy with our effort the other night at Mercer, which stings a little bit because it’s a rivalry game and we should be better prepared for it. The kids came out with the right application and attitude tonight and they deserve all the credit.”

Overall the Eagles had the edge over the Owls in shots 17-9, eight from Carbonell, three from both Davie and freshman Samuel Mayer, and one a piece from Talavera, sophomore Kareem Gharbi, and freshman Joshua Deane.

The Eagles will be back in action Saturday as they travel to Howard for their first Sun Belt match of the season.

Kaitlin Sells, The George-Anne Assistant Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu