DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University's men's soccer team came out strong early to defeat Ferrum College 3-2 in conference action on Wednesday night at Daly Field.
 
Averett senior defensive midfielder Sam Muir buried a deflection from senior midfielder Nathan Brown's shot into the back of the net in the 2nd minute, giving the Cougars (4-8-1, 2-3-1 USA South) a early 1-0 lead.
 
Muir took a pass from Brown in the 23rd minute and fired it past Panthers' goalkeeper Joe Martin, extending the Cougars lead to 2-0.
 
However, Ferrum (4-9-2, 2-4-1 USA South) cut the lead in half 11 minutes later when Keith Ricks received a pass from Rucker Shipp and slipped it past Cougars' senior goalkeeper Martin Erenstedt, cutting Averett's lead to one.
 
The Cougars came out strong early in the second half, when junior defensive back Stelios Michalakis booted a shot in the 49th minute, but Martin was able to make the save, keeping the score at 2-1 in favor of Averett.
 
The Panthers came close to tying the game in the 68th minute when Cristian Turcios slipped past the Cougars' defense and fired a shot at Erenstedt, but Erenstedt was able to make the save, preserving Averett's lead.
 
Ferrum came close to knotting the score again in the 71st minute when Jae White tested Erenstedt with a shot, but Erenstedt denied White's attempt.
 
Brown added a goal to his two assists in the 73rd minute when he took a pass from freshman forward Tobias Andreasson and headed it past Martin for a 3-1 Averett lead.
 
The Panthers' Keith Ricks was able to make things interesting when he scored a goal in the 87th minute, cutting the Cougars' lead to 3-2 with just under three minutes left to play. Shipp almost added a goal to his assist in the 89th minute with a header, but Erenstedt was able to make the save, giving Averett the victory.
 
Brown and Muir recorded three shots for the Cougars and Andreasson fired two. Erenstedt recorded six saves between the pipes for Averett.
 
The Cougars take the pitch again on Saturday when they travel to Fayetteville, North Carolina to take on Methodist University in conference action at 2 p.m.