ATHENS, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Southern men's soccer team opened the 2025 campaign in commanding fashion, defeating Tennessee Wesleyan 4-0 on the road Saturday afternoon at the TWU Athletic Complex.

The Firehawks (1-0) controlled possession from the opening whistle, creating pressure early and striking first in the 8th minute when Filippo Fregoli found the back of the net unassisted for his first goal of the season.

UT Southern entered halftime with a 1-0 lead but came out firing in the second half, scoring three times to put the match out of reach. Luke McMahon doubled the Firehawks' advantage just 48 seconds after the restart, finishing a pass from Felix Hammel to make it 2-0. In the 75th minute, Mak Binder extended the lead off an assist from Lorick Gustave, and Gustave capped the scoring in the 81st minute with an unassisted strike of his own.

On the defensive end, UT Southern's back line, anchored by goalkeeper Louis Hester, stifled the Bulldogs all afternoon, holding them to just five total shots and zero shots on goal. Hester earned his first clean sheet of the season without needing to make a save.

Offensively, UT Southern produced a balanced attack with 15 total shots, including 12 on goal, and generated seven corner kicks while holding Tennessee Wesleyan without one.

First-Half Team Stats

Final Team Stats

Scoring Summary

UP NEXT
The Firehawks will close out their exhibition slate on August 26 when they travel to face the University of Alabama in Huntsville at 6:00 p.m. UT Southern will then return to regular season action on August 31 with a road matchup at Brescia, scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

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