The Oglethorpe men's soccer team outlasted Birmingham-Southern 2-1 Friday afternoon on Salamone Field. In so doing, they took over sole possession of first place in the SAA and extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games.

The Petrels got off to an early lead in this one, as junior midfielder Aleks Tanjga picked up a loose ball in the box and hammered it off a Panthers defender and into the goal in the 18th minute for a 1-0 Petrel lead and his second goal of the season. 

Birmingham-Southern tied the game in the 27th minute, though, making the score 1-1 at halftime.

In an eventful second half, the Petrels took the lead back in the 59th minute after earning a penalty kick when a forward was fouled by the goalkeeper on a long run into the box. Senior defender Nikos Papanikolopoulos calmly buried the penalty kick into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season, giving Oglethorpe the 2-1 lead.

From there, the Petrels tried to hang on as the Panthers desperately attempted to score the equalizer. Freshman goalkeeper Vaughn Moore was forced to leave the game with an injury in the 75th minute, meaning sophomore Brock Marvin would have to finish out the game. Marvin made four saves in the game's final 15 minutes, including two spectacular ones, to ensure that the Petrels held the lead and secured the 2-1 victory.

Despte the big finish, the Petrels outshot the Panthers 25-13 on the afternoon, including 9-5 on goal. Birmingham-Southern attempted seven corner kicks to the Petrels' four.

The win coupled with Berry's loss to Millsaps earlier Friday afternoon means that the Petrels hold first place in the SAA all by themselves with two games left at 4-0-1 in-conference. The 8-2-2 squad will take on Millsaps themselves Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. before a big showdown with Berry in the final game of the regular season next Saturday.