Freshman Juan Hermenegildo scored with 53 seconds remaining to lift the Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team to a dramatic 3-2 victory Thursday evening against Columbia International University (South Carolina) on the first day of the Dalton Classic at Dalton State College in Dalton, Georgia.

Hermenegildo's match-winning goal came on a back-heel flick at the edge of the goal line after receiving a crossing pass from the right side of the pitch by freshman Nic Peranitsch.

"Nic gave a great ball and it put a lot of pressure on the goalkeeper to make a decision. I continued my run from the far side and tapped it in," said Hermenegildo on his first collegiate goal.

GGC (2-0-0) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead by dominating the opening 10 minutes. First, sophomore Joshua Orue stole the ball from CIU goalkeeper Matias Breit to score in the sixth minute. Three minutes later, freshman Josefa Simao buried a shot from 15 yards inside the left post to double the Grizzlies' advantage.

The tables turned in the second half, with Columbia International (1-1-0) setting the tempo early with a distant shot by Victor Gonzalez finding the back of the GGC net in the 50th minute. Then at the 61-minute mark, Rodrigo Vicente Cercal squared the match, at 2-2, with a goal off the counterattack.

The Grizzlies regained the momentum for the last 29 minutes of action. Freshman Alejandro Contrera sailed a shot just over the crossbar in the 74th minute. Another shot attempt by Contrera with six minutes left continued to tilt the pitch in the team's favor.

GGC finally broke through on Hermenegildo's final-minute heroics.

The Grizzlies outshot CIU by a commanding 19-8 margin, marking the second straight match that they have outshot the opposition by 10 or more shots. Ten of GGC's shots in Thursday's match were on goal.

Contrera paced a balanced shooting performance with a match-high five shots. Simao tallied three shots and scored his first collegiate goal. Senior Patrick Gawliczek Rodriguez, Peranitsch and Orue rounded out the attack with two shot attempts apiece.
  "The (match-winning) goal was a culmination of applied pressure and a good ball delivered into the (opposing) box. It was a good response for us after allowing the two goals to tie the match. We now have two wins when we were either behind or after allowing tying goals. I'm ecstatic about this team's fight," said Head Coach Steve DeCou.
  The Grizzlies made a good offensive response after allowing two goals early in the second half that tied the match. Ten of the team's 19 shots came in the second half. The freshman duo of Nic Peranitsch and Juan Hermenegildo teamed up for the dramatic goal in the final minute of the contest.
  6' – Joshua Orue, GGC (unassisted)
9' – Josefa Simao, GGC (unassisted)
50' – Victor Gonzalez, CIU (unassisted)
61' – Rodrigo Vicente Cercal, CIU (unassisted)
89' – Juan Hermenegildo, GGC (Nic Peranitsch)
 

• The Grizzlies outshot CIU by a 19-8 margin, with 10 shots being on goal
• GGC attempted three corner kicks across the 90 minutes of action
• Five different players have accounted for the Grizzlies' goals this season
• Seventeen players saw action for the team on Thursday

• GGC improves to 2-0-0 on the season; Columbia International drops to 1-1-0 this fall
• The team outshot both opponents in 2024, averaging 18.5 shots per match while allowing eight shots per outing
• Georgia Gwinnett College has won all three meetings with the Rams in the series; Thursday's match was the first meeting since 2017
• The team is 2-0-1 in competing in the Dalton Classic over the last two seasons

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to conclude play in the Dalton Classic with a match against Brescia University (Kentucky) on Saturday, August 24, at Dalton State College in Dalton, Georgia, starting at 11 a.m.