ULAH, N.C. – Before fans could even settle into their seats, Southwestern Randolph found itself in unusual territory.

In the ninth minute of a battle for one of the top spots in the Piedmont Athletic Conference, the Cougars trailed Trinity 2-0.

The 71 minutes that followed were a jolting flip of the script as five unanswered, including a stretch of three goals in three minutes, lifted Southwestern to a 5-2 victory.

The Bulldogs broke the ice less than four minutes into the match. Moments later, Riley Foster netted a penalty kick to inflate the lead to 2-0.

Facing immediate adversity, Southwestern Randolph flipped the field. Dominance in the attacking third first paid off in the 24th minute of play. Fernando Hernandez left a ball for Aaron Avina who settled and slotted in a shot lower left from atop the box.

Trailing 2-1, the Cougars watched that score hold through the halftime break.

In the box, Avina corralled a ball that deflected off of a defender’s back. He quickly tapped a pass to Jonathan Lopez Degollado who leveled the match at 2-2 in the 48th.

Southwestern Randolph kept the momentum rolling—four more shots followed in the ensuing five minutes.

A handball set the stage for Hernandez to take a PK to give the Cougars a 3-2 lead in the 55th.

In the blink of an eye, the ball was once again sitting in the back of the net. Lopez Degollado secured a brace in the 56th minute of play from a similar spot on the field to his first tally.

Hernandez took another penalty kick in the 58th, and while it was initially stopped, the rebound was banged in for his 32nd of the season.

The 5-2 lead would hold to help Southwestern Randolph bounce back from its first loss of the year late last week to NCISAA power Wesleyan Christian.

Now 17-1 overall and 8-0 in league play, the Cougars travel to Randleman on Wednesday. Much like Trinity, the Tigers are fighting to knock Southwestern from atop the league standings.

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Source: highschoolot.com