Contributed
(August 23, 2010)

Senior All-American Stefan Arnarson netted his first goal of the season with just over 13 minutes left to play in regulation, as the No. 17 Auburn University at Montgomery men’s soccer team completed a second-half rally to defeat the University of Davenport, 3-2, on Sunday at the AUM Soccer Complex.

With the win, the Senators improved to 1-0 on the season and remained undefeated in season-openers under fourth-year head coach Wulf-Dieter Koch.

“I thought we were really good for the first 30 minutes of the first half today,” Koch said. “Coming out to start the second half, I think we got a little complacent. We made a couple of mistakes in the back and we were down in a game we seemed to be dominating.”

Freshman Atli Sigurdsson gave the Senators a 1-0 lead early in the contest, after he scored his first collegiate goal less than 10 minutes into the contest. Senior Gunnar Kristinsson posted the first of two assists on the afternoon on the goal.

The Panthers (0-2) knotted the score at 1-1 in the 38th minute, when Jordan Richards scored an unassisted goal. Davenport took its only lead of the game at the 53:38 mark of the contest, as Ricco Mulero scored off of a free kick by Jai Maw.

However, less than five minutes later, the Senators tied the score when junior Vignir Benediktsson slammed home his second career goal, with Kristinsson and fellow junior Chris Ross assisting.

Arnarson scored the game-winning goal in the 76th minute, taking a well-placed pass from freshman Gudni Kristjansson and beating Panthers’ goalkeeper Kevin O’Brien in the back-right side of the goal.

“Even after falling behind, we showed a lot of character, especially for being a young team,” Koch continued.

Offensively, the Senators held a commanding 35-8 advantage in total shots, led by Arnarson’s game-high eight. Sigurdsson added six shots, while fellow freshman Daniel Rodrigues and sophomore newcomer Tornubari Nyonebue each added five.

In goal, junior Steve Keller posted four saves to earn the victory.

“Atli (Sigurdsson), Daniel (Rodrigues) and Vitor (Silva) all did some good things today in their first collegiate match,” Koch added. “Stephen Grooms also did a lot to keep us composed on the field. I thought our outside backs, particularly Chris Ross, did an excellent job of getting involved in the match.”

Auburn Montgomery will return to action on Friday, August 27, when it hosts Shorter University at 3 p.m.