Wednesday's NAIA top-10 men's soccer match between newly-appointed No. 1 University of Mobile (Alabama) and No. 10 Georgia Gwinnett College at the Grizzly Soccer Complex didn't disappoint in intrigue and drama. The visiting Rams pulled out a 5-4 victory after holding off a furious and productive second-half GGC rally.

This was the first loss of the season for the Grizzlies (6-1-1).

Trailing 4-1 within the opening minute of the second half, the hosts found the back of the net three times within an 11-minute span to tie the contest.

Senior Karim Tmimi was the team's offensive catalyst by scoring a hat trick in the contest, with two goals coming during the second-half rally. He drilled a free kick from outside the 18-yard box into the upper left corner of the goal in the 64th minute for the tying goal, 4-4.

Tmimi had brought the Grizzlies within a goal, 4-3, with an unassisted tally in the 53rd minute. That came 39 seconds after junior Diego Milessi found the back of the net to trim the deficit to 4-2.

Mobile (5-0-1) got the game-winning goal in the 79th minute on a penalty kick by Sebastian Jorgge that just got past the outstretched arms of GGC goalkeeper Ron Boaz.

The hosts outshot Mobile by a 13-9 margin in the contest, including a 10-4 advantage during the second half.

The visiting Rams jumped out to a 2-0 lead by unassisted goals from Jose Sanabria and Lucas Ros in the third and 10th minutes of the match. But GGC got on the scoreboard to cut the deficit in half with Tmimi's first goal of the night following a quick throw in from senior Juan Cruz Parisi Sitjar to junior Emanuele Sordi. A crossing pass found Tmimi wide open inside the six-yard box in front of the Mobile goal.

The advantage stretched to 3-1 before five minutes before halftime on an unassisted goal by Kevin Fitzgerald. A goal from Chiedu Ikeme in the opening 31 seconds of the second half built Mobile's 4-1 advantage.

Tmimi's hat trick is the first for a Grizzly player since a road match against Pensacola Christian College (Florida) on October 25, 2019.


  "We showed a lot of heart, grit and resiliency. I didn't like that we went down 4-1, but liked that we were creating chances. We started finishing them to eventually tie the match. There is something here with this (GGC) group. That was one of the better college games I've ever been involved," said Head Coach Steve DeCou.
                The Grizzlies' grit was on full display after trailing 4-1 early in the second half. They scored three consecutive goals over an 11-minute period to square the match, 4-4. Junior Diego Milessi and senior Karim Tmimi scored 39 seconds apart in the 53rd minute to cut the deficit to one goal, 4-3. Then, Tmimi scored off a free kick to tie the contest in the 64th minute to cap his hat trick offensive effort in the match.
  3' – Jose Sanabria, UM (unassisted)
10' – Lucas Ros, UM (unassisted)
28' – Karim Tmimi, GGC (Emanuele Sordi, Juan Cruz Parisi Sitjar)
40' – Kevin Fitzgerald, UM (unassisted)
46' – Chiedu Ikeme, UM (Sebastian Jorgge)
53' – Diego Milessi,GGC (Antoine Ferez)
53' – Karim Tmimi, GGC (unassisted)
64' – Karim Tmimi, GGC (unassisted)
79' – Sebastian Jorgge, UM (Penalty kick)
 

• The Grizzlies outshot Mobile by a 13-9 margin, including 10-4 during the second half
• Senior Karim Tmimi registered the team's first hat trick of the season
• GGC attempted three of the four corner kicks in the match
• Eight different Grizzlies registered a shot across the 90 minutes of action

• GGC drops to 6-1-1 in 2022, while Mobile improves to 5-0-1 on the season
• Georgia Gwinnett College was ranked No. 10 in the NAIA Top 25 poll, announced on Wednesday; Mobile climbed to the No. 1 team in the same poll
• The Rams hold a 4-1-1 lead in the series
• GGC went 4-1-1 during its recent six-match home stand

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to Fisk University on Saturday, October 8, from Nashville, Tennessee, starting at noon.