COCHRAN, GA. - CIU men's soccer headed to the Peach State on Saturday to take on Middle Georgia State University in their final regular season contest. It was a quiet first half, but two second-half goals propelled CIU to a 2-1 win. The Rams finish the regular season with a record of 10-4-3 and an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) record of 7-4-2. 

Match Summary: Zion Atkinson started the Rams' offense with a saved shot just two minutes into the match. The Knights responded with two of their own, one that sailed left and one that Chase Knizek could block. Lucas Galdino took two shots that missed high, while Daniel Ospina's was blocked. The Knights' keeper hauled in Galdino's third shot of the contest, while Juan Ospina also had a shot attempt come up empty (16:30). 

MGU had a chance to score from a corner kick, but the Rams' defense successfully thwarted the scoring attempt. Noe Limas took the first corner for CIU, but the Rams couldn't capitalize on the opportunity.

Ismael Valverde and Gabriel Rokov made an attempt with less than five minutes remaining in the first frame, but neither could produce, leaving the score 0-0 going into the half. 

The Rams were quickly awarded a corner kick at the start of the second period, with Michael Abongo's header sailing left on this. Knizek picked up a save off of a header from an MGU corner kick to keep the Knights off the board. Atkinson continued to work the keeper with three shots on goal in seven minutes of each other. 

The Knights made their way onto the board with a penalty kick (73:07), but Atkinson responded to even the score (77:51). Just two minutes later, Rokov found the back of the net off a setup from Ospina to give the Rams a 2-1 lead. Marcelo Hernandez's attempt sailed right, and this was the last attempt from either team to give CIU the victory in their regular season finale. 

The Rams outshot MGU 18-7, with Atkinson leading with six. 

Up Next: CIU awaits their final conference standing and post-season seed in the AAC Men's Soccer Tournament.