MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The No. 21 AUM men's soccer team responded to its first loss of the season with an emphatic 3-0 road victory over Montevallo at the Varsity Soccer Field on Friday night.
 
AUM (6-1-5, 4-1-2 Gulf South) got back in the win column, using an early goal for the cushion it needed before adding a pair of scores in the second half for a season-high three goals. The squad ended the dominant performance by holding UM to six shots and just one on goal while producing the team's sixth shutout of the season That ranks as the eighth most in the country.

"I'm very proud of this group and their ability to bounce back after last weekend," AUM head coach Matthew Thorne said. "That was a very tough derby and the lads gave everything for each other,"

Junior Jamie Ward scored his first goal as a Warhawk, finding the back of the net in the eighth minute. Graduate student Logan Roach served a corner kick into the goal box, where Ward got his head on the ball and flicked it into the net on the short side.
 
The Warhawks added to their lead in the 70th minute on a transition play off a defender clear. Sophomore Carlo Russo took a pass up the left flank and then served a cross into the box where senior Nick Atkinson beat three Falcons down the field and put a soft arching header into the far side of the goal. It was his second goal of the season.
 
Six minutes later senior Tasker Wheeler sent a pass from near midfield into the attacking third where senior Tyler Bridgewater outraced a Falcon defender into the box and beat the goalkeeper into the upper right corner. For Bridgewater, it was his first career goal in two seasons at AUM.

Graduate student William Blake stopped the only shot he faced in recording his third shutout of 2024.
 
UM (5-5-2, 3-4-0) lost its third-consecutive game and allowed three or more goals for the fourth time in 12 games.
 
UP NEXT
AUM will return home to the AUM Soccer Complex next weekend for its final two regular-season home contests. The Warhawks will face Christian Brothers on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Union on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
   
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