The Tribune

THE University of The Bahamas men’s soccer team came away in a win and a draw against the Grand Bahama Soccer Club in its showcase at the YMCA Soccer Field in Freeport, Grand Bahama this past weekend.

They got a 2-1 victory on Saturday after finishing with a 2-2 draw on Friday.

Alex Thompson, head coach of the Mingoes, said that the two matches were intense.

“Playing back-to-backs in soccer with a small squad is next to impossible so kudos to the guys,” Thompson said. “We picked up a few injuries that we have to nurse and rehab but they showed character. We made a few adjustments in the second game based off of fatigue and playing time.”

Playing in a downpour, the Mingoes got the scoring started on Saturday when Joshua Johnson beat the goalkeeper in the 39th minute to put his team up 1-0. Ricardo Walkes Jr was awarded with the assist. The Mingoes held on to the lead when the referee blew the halftime whistle.

The Mingoes gave up a penalty-kick in the 57th minute. Grand Bahama converted the kick to tie the game at 1-1.

After both teams attempted to break the tie in regulation, it was UB’s Marlon Barnes who broke the tie 12 minutes into injury time. Barnes did it on a free-kick that got a deflection from his teammate Ronaldo Green.

“My mindset was to win,” Barnes said. “Credit to the guys. They showed tremendous character and the Mingoes spirit. We came out, followed instructions and executed to get the win. My intention on the free-kick was to just lay it in on the back post but they told me to go for it.”

Friday’s game saw the Mingoes coming back from a 2-0 deficit to get a 2-2 draw. The home team scored in the 32nd and 33rd minute of the game to take the 2-0 lead.

Green scored his first goal in the 40th minute in the run of play with a well-placed shot to the right of the goal. It cut the home team’s lead to 2-1. The score remained at the half.

Green calmly put away a penalty-kick to tie the game up at 2-2 in the 55th minute. That was the last goal scored in the game by both teams.

Next up for UB soccer is a back-to-back matchup against Millenia Atlantic set for October 17 and 19 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.