By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
Jaron Noble's kick save with three seconds remaining preserved a stunning 3-2 victory for Murray State over second-ranked Eastern Florida State in the opening round of the NJCAA men's soccer national tournament Sunday afternoon in Wichita, Kansas.

The unheralded Aggies' fifth consecutive postseason victory improved their record to 14-4-1 on the season heading into Monday's 12:30 pool play matchup with seventh seeded Tyler Junior College. Eastern Florida State, which had allowed just 11 goals all season, saw its 11-match winning streak snapped as the Titans fell to 15-2 on the year.

"The guys played really well in the second half and deserved it," head coach John Connor commented afterward. "I guess we're just known for pulling off shockers now. The way this tournament is set up though, we have a long way to go. If we can come out and take care of business tomorrow we can punch our ticket for the semifinals without having to wait and see what others do."

Making their first-ever appearance against the perennial national tournament regular, the Aggies appeared unfazed in battling toe-to-toe with the Titans, despite being outshot by a wide margin. But it was another stellar showing by the Murray State defense that proved crucial.

The Aggies opened the contest with back-to-back shots on goal by Lucas Peruzo and Joel Green but did not have another scoring opportunity the remainder of the first half as the Titans controlled the possession.

It took 35 minutes for Eastern Florida State to break the ice with a Thiago Pires goal off a deflection off the goal post but the Titans were turned away on their other nine shots the rest of the half with Noble providing six saves.

Following another save by Noble in the first minute after intermission, the Aggies went on the attack as a Dominic Woolley header sailed just wide left. Moments later, however, Murray State finally found the net when Victor Mayrink headed in a Lucas Peruzo corner kick to knot the score at the 47:25 mark.

Uros Vulovic and Jeronimo Ruiz continued to come up with big defensive play after big defensive play, combining with Noble to hold off the Titans until a free kick at the edge of the 18-yard box found the upper corner of the goal with just under 28 minutes left to give the Florida squad a 2-1 lead.

Green answered with a scoring penalty kick nine minutes later that tied the contest again and seemingly energized the Aggie faithful.

Murray State fed off that momentum, cashing in their very next scoring opportunity for the lead as a Woolley centering pass from the left side found a streaking Pepijn Borst in front of the net and the Holland sophomore punched it past the diving keeper.

That score put the Aggies in front for the first time with 11 minutes to go and they battened down the defensive hatches from there as Eastern Florida State peppered the attack zone from there. Ruiz and David Restrepo deflected away Titan shots, Green cleared another and Mayrink's defensive play with just under a minute left appeared as if that might ice the game.

Eastern Florida State wasn't finished, putting together one final attack as Maseko Siphesilhe got free in front of the Murray State net for an open shot that Noble deflected away with a feet first dive for his game-clinching 11^th save of the day.

"We played with so much passion, heart and desire today," Connor added. "We were really patient in the first half, but that's kind of the way we have played in the postseason, and it's worked for us. We came out a lot more attacking in the second half and were able to get that first goal that gave us a bit of spark. Once we got the lead our defensive guys and Jaron knew what they had to do."