FERRUM, Va. — Senior Brian Benitez's goal in the 71st minute lifted the Averett University men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Ferrum College, giving the Cougars their first three-game winning streak since 2013.
 
Tied 1-1 with less than 30 minutes left in regulation, Averett (5-8, 4-2 USA South) got some late heroics when sophomore Tobias Andreasson fed the ball to Benitez and Benitez snuck his shot past Ferrum's goalkeeper Sydnor Trent to complete Averett's thrilling victory.
 
Ferrum (3-10, 2-5 USA South) fell behind at the 39:24 mark when freshman Felix Squire scored his first collegiate goal to put Averett up 1-0. Despite falling behind, the Panthers nearly answered back two minutes later when Alex Armstrong got off a shot, but senior goalkeeper John Matrisciano denied his attempt, keeping the Cougars in front by one.
 
After the two teams traded shots to start the second half, Ferrum found an equalizer when Julian Ofori hammered in a shot to put the score at 1-1 in the 61st minute. Both offenses continued to look for the golden goal, but were unable to find it until Benitez made good on his attempt.
 
The Cougars outshot the Panthers 21-14 in the victory. Andreasson paced Averett with five shots, while Squire added three and freshman David Cuperman contributed three attempts. Benitez finished the contest with two.
 
The victory puts Averett just four points behind Maryville College for the top spot in the USA South Conference heading into a crucial game against the Scots on Oct. 24.
 
Averett returns to the pitch on Oct. 17 when it hosts Methodist University in conference action at 2 p.m.