COLUMBIA, S.C. — CIU men's soccer struck first but couldn't hold on as Tennessee Wesleyan rallied in the second half to hand the Rams a 5–1 loss Saturday afternoon at Sessions Field.

CIU opened the scoring in the 29th minute when Josue Pirela found the back of the net off an assist from Cristhian Molina, giving the Rams an early 1–0 lead. The Rams' defense held strong through the first 45 minutes, limiting the Bulldogs to just five shots and keeping the halftime advantage intact.

However, Tennessee Wesleyan surged with five unanswered goals after the break, pulling ahead in the 65th minute and stretching the lead to 5–1 by the 83rd.

Goalkeeper Vasilios Diakomalihalis recorded two saves for CIU, while the Rams managed two total shots—one on goal—from Pirela. CIU earned four corner kicks and committed 15 fouls in the contest.

The loss moves CIU to 5-6-1 overall and 4-5-1 in Appalachian Conference play, while Tennessee Wesleyan improves to 8-7--0 and 6-4-0.

The Rams will look to bounce back when they travel to face the University of Pikeville on October 25th.