Liberty Overwhelms American 4-2

The Liberty Flames scored three unanswered goals over a five minute stretch early in the second half to pull away from the American Eagles for a 4-2 victory, Tuesday afternoon at Reeves Field.

Isidoro Garcia, Kevin Mendoza and Tresor Mbuyu each netted goals during the scoring outburst for the Flames.

Liberty moves to 6-6-1 overall on the season. American falls to 3-6-4.

Scoring Summary
15' – LIBERTY – Kevin Mendoza (assisted by Geovanny Murillo)
46' – AMERICAN – Viggo Sjoberg (assisted by Matt Sloan)
49' – LIBERTY – Isidoro Garcia (assisted by Shaun Stocker)
51' – LIBERTY – Kevin Mendoza (unassisted)
54' – LIBERTY – Tresor Mbuyu (assisted by Kevin Mendoza)
90' – AMERICAN – Trey Echazarretta (assisted by Josiah Bostic)

Turning Point
Less than three minutes after American tied the match at 1-1, Liberty tallied their second goal of the match off a free kick. From 25 yards out, midfielder Shaun Stocker pushed a shot which Eagles goalkeeper John Plewes deflected, but did not control. Defender Isidoro Garcia buried the rebound into the top of the net, giving Liberty a 2-1 lead.

The goal was the first of three goals by the visiting Flames over the next five minutes to take a commanding 4-1 edge.

Key Stats & Notes

American outshot Liberty, 14-9, and held the edge in corner kicks, 5-2. However, the Flames had eight shots on goal, while the Eagles put six on goal.
Liberty goalkeeper James Knoebel made four saves in the contest. Lucas Manso and John Plewes each played a half in the American net, making two saves a piece.
Liberty midfielder Kevin Mendoza scored twice and added an assist for five points in the contest, a season high for the senior. The senior has posted multiple-goal games three times in 2018.
With his five-point effort, Mendoza moves into eighth on Liberty's all-time career points list with 70. This afternoon, he also entered the program's Top 10 career goal scorers in 10^th with 28 career goals.
Tresor Mbuyu netted his 11^th goal of the season, setting a new career high. Mbuyu eclipses his previous high of 10 from last year.
Mbuyu now leads the ASUN Conference in goals and with 25 points, one ahead of teammate Mendoza.
Defender Isidoro Garcia scored his first goal of the season for the Flames.
Liberty defender Geovanny Murillo assisted on Mendoza's first goal of the contest. It was the senior's third of the season, tying a career season high for the defender.
Liberty freshmen Jafeth Santiago and Andrew Taber received their first collegiate starts in the contest.
Today's meeting was the sixth between Liberty and American. With the win, Liberty leads all-time series, 4-1-1. The game was added to each team's schedule after losing games to Hurricane Florence.

Up Next
Liberty will host Jacksonville for an ASUN match at Osborne Stadium, Saturday. The match will be the Flames' final home game of the regular season. Before the contest, the Flames will hold their Senior Day ceremonies. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Team Stats

Kevin Mendoza

Tresor Mbuyu

Isidoro Garcia

Geovanny Murillo