The Oglethorpe men's soccer team, ranked 12th in the United Soccer Coaches poll coming into the week, faced off against the visiting Lynchburg Hornets, ranked 23rd in the D3soccer.com poll, Sunday afternoon at the Oglethorpe Track and Field, but it was the visiting Hornets who picked up a second-half goal en route to a 1-0 victory. The result dropped the Stormy Petrels to 4-2 on the season.

Oglethorpe enjoyed a great deal of the possession and a big shot advantage, especially in the first half. They outshot the Hornets 8-2 in the opening half of play, forcing Lynchburg goalkeeper Dylan McLaurin to make a pair of saves to keep the game level. The Hornets got a better footing in the second half, but the Petrels still had several big scoring chances. A shot by sophomore forward Gabriel Alvarez hit the crossbar in the 49th minute, while junior midfielder Topher Marshall did the same with a long, looping free kick in the 66th. The Petrels fired four shots over the final 45 minutes, but Lynchburg eventually got the breakthrough.

The Hornets' Ryan Pikunas lofted a ball from behind the midfield line up ahead to forward Abibi Osman, and the latter chipped the ball past Oglethorpe senior goalkeeper Luke Whelan to give his team a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute. That changed the tone of the contest, as the Petrels now had to chase the game, but Oglethorpe continued getting chances. Their best opportunity to equalize came in the 88th minute, when junior midfielder Ryan Marcano got onto the end of a Marshall corner kick and headed it on goal, but McLaurin was able to get a fingertip to it and keep it out. The Lynchburg defense was then able to clear, preserving the 1-0 advantage.

Whelan finished the contest with two saves, both of them coming in the second half and keeping the Petrels in the game. He fell to 4-1 on the season with the loss. Marcano fired three shots on the afternoon, putting two of them on target, while Marshall and Alvarez fired three shots apiece, as well.

The Petrels outshot the Hornets 12-7 overall, but both teams put three shots on goal. Oglethorpe took five corner kicks to Lynchburg's one. The game was a physical contest, and featured four yellow cards handed out in all, two to each team. 

"We weren't our best today, but I can't take any credit away from Lynchburg," said Oglethorpe head coach Jon Akin. "They're a very hard-working team and are difficult to deal with. We had chances today, though. We hit the crossbar twice in the second half. But they were able to put away their chance, and that was the difference. One of the big things I think we take out of today is that if we're average, we can get beat against good teams like this. We've got to learn and use our training to get better."

The Petrels will next take the field against defending SAA champion Centre in a match that will serve as the conference opener for both squads. That game will get started at 7 p.m. on Friday from the Oglethorpe Track and Field. 

"Centre won the SAA Tournament last year, knocking us out in the semifinals in the process," said Akin. "They're a hard-working team that is somewhat similar to Lynchburg in their style of play. It should be another very physical contest. We just have to put away our chances when we get them. That was the difference today and it was the difference in the SAA Tournament against Centre last year."