COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU men's soccer hosted the University of Pikeville (Ky.) on Wednesday afternoon to continue Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play. The Rams took an early lead and maintained it throughout the contest for a 5-2 win over the Bears. CIU is now 6-3-2 on the season and 5-1-1 in AAC play. 

Match Summary: Three minutes into the contest, the Rams were on the board, thanks to a goal from Florian Baumgaertner off a Juan Jimenez corner kick. CIU remained dominant on both sides of the field, only allowing the Bears to take one shot. Paul Schütte shot one by the keeper on an assist from Pablo Portero to give the Rams a 2-0 advantage before halftime. 

Rodrigo Cercal scored his eighth goal of the season in the 49th minute (assist by Ive Celic) to extend the Rams' lead to 3-0. During a quick breakaway, Portero found Cercal , who navigated a 1v1 situation with the Bears' goalkeeper and netted another goal for the Rams. The Bears scored two goals in the last 15 minutes of the contest to cut the lead in half, but Noe Limas sealed the deal (assist by Michael Abongo) with two minutes remaining to secure CIU's 5-2 win.