TALLADEGA, Ala. — The Freed-Hardeman University men's soccer team opened 2026 with a bang with a trip to face the Talladega (Ala.) College Tornadoes. The Lions netted seven goals in the first half to start the season with an 8-1 victory.
On the first shot of the season,
Paolo Sparks took a pass from
Martin Theissen and buried it at 5:56 to give Freed-Hardeman (1-0-0) the lead.
Sam Sebagabo kept the offense going with a goal in the 13th minute thanks to an assist from
Balsa Medenica. The Tornadoes drew within one after a goal in the 25th minute, but the Lions were quick to answer.
Adrian Mann and
Noah Setterberg potted goals within 17 seconds of each other with Mann's goal coming at 29:17 with help from Theissen and Setterberg's at 29:34 being assisted by Medenica. Shortly after that, Theissen himself scored a goal in the 32nd minute to push the Lions to a 5-1 advantage.
At 36:41, Mann connected for his second goal of the half with assists from
Henry Appiah and
Marko Ngabrano. FHU took advantage of a Talladega (0-1-0) own goal to take a 7-1 lead into halftime. In the first half alone, the Lions sent 15 shots toward the Talladega keeper, with nine of those being on target.
The Lions eased off in the second half by taking three shots. One of those shots came at 60:30 off of the boot of Ngabrano after a pass from Setterberg to finish the scoring and seal the 8-1 victory. Between the pipes,
Gaspar Bourdon registered two saves.
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Up Next
The Lions will enjoy a 655-mile road trip as they go from Alabama to Hannibal, Missouri, where they will face the Trojans of Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on August 22.
