MONTGOMERY, Ala. - - Looking back to last season's matchup, the Cumberland men's soccer team was set for a physical dual this afternoon against the Faulkner Eagles.

Cumberland was on the backfoot to start the game as the Eagles tried to redeem their 6-0 loss to the Phoenix this past season. In the opening ten minutes, the home side leathered the crossbar with two shots and set the tone for what would be a challenging first half for the Phoenix.

Miquel Gelabert was a creative force down the right wing, leading the game in total shots in the first half, though it was the Eagles who struck first. Faulkner worked their way inside the Cumberland 18-yard box and took a shot which was deflected to an Eagle who buried their attempt from range.

That goal sparked the game into a back and forth battle, seeing two yellow cards given out and a combined 17 fouls. Before the break Faulkner was able to double their lead with a well-timed chip just six minutes before the buzzer sounded.

Facing their first adversity of the season, Cumberland responded with flying colors to start the second half. Luis Cerejo took a free kick which was saved and parried into the box where Inigo Gonzalez Zaballa stood waiting to put it in the back of the net.

It looked as though the Eagles had answered with a goal of their own just minutes later, but an offsides call disallowed the goal and flipped the game on its head. The very next time down the field for Cumberland, Harold Perea slotted a pass into Philipp Schmidtke who found the back of the net and tied the game at two each.

With a mountain of momentum on their side, Cumberland pressed the Eagles with everything they had and with another six minutes off the clock, it was Schmidtke and Gelabert adding yet another goal contribution to their tally. Cerejo played a long ball to the German who dribbled through contact and put Gelabert in one-on-one with the goalkeeper, 3-2 for Cumberland.

Chasing a goal for the next thirty minutes, Faulkner left themselves wide open for a counterattack and it was the same pair from the last goal linking up again for a fourth and final Cumberland goal. Miquel Gelabert played a tremendous long ball to Schmidtke who put his second goal of the game in the back of the net.

Faulkner didn't make life easy for the Phoenix however as they did manage to bring it back within one goal in the 85th minute, but it was simply too late to mount their comeback at that point. With the win Cumberland will remain undefeated after their opening weekend of play, compounding on their great victory over No. 6 Mobile.

Cumberland will wait a week for their next matchup, taking on a pair of opponents in Rio Grande at their annual Classic.