Mateo Puentes scored the game-winning goal as the Brock men's soccer team defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks 3-2 under the lights at Alumni Field on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

"It was an intense game. I saw the ball loop over and it landed perfectly, so I just slid it home," said Puentes, a first-year Business student from St. Catharines. "These three points are must-have marks to get into the playoffs."

The Badgers improve to 2-2-1 for second place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West Division behind the No. 5-ranked Guelph Gryphons.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Puentes could be found on the sidelines cheering on the Badgers and his older brother, Alejandro Puentes, a fourth-year Biological Sciences student.

"We've had the pleasure of having both Puentes brothers on our team. Mateo is a special player just like Alejandro," said head coach Erik Van Wissen. "They both have the gift of the touch. Mateo's foot turned out to be the difference-maker in this 3-2 win."

Brock built an early 2-0 lead on a pair of back-to-back goals from Michael Solomon just 13 minutes apart.

The Golden Hawks' defence attempted to shut down the 6-foot-3 striker from Niagara Falls. However, Solomon was unrelenting on the attack.

"As a striker, you just have to take any opportunity you can get. Especially in a game of this magnitude, we needed these three points desperately," said Solomon, a Kinesiology student. "This was a great collective effort. We have a lot of work to do, but we're up for the challenge."

Laurier struck back on a goal from Nick Andreola before the end of the first. Sabastian Lach tied the game up in the 57th minute before Puentes' game-winner at 64:46.

Brock's keeper, Alex May, made six saves as Laurier outshot Brock 10-8. Matthew Wnukowski delivered three shots while Michael Fernandez and Jacob Geyer each added a shot.

Next, the Badgers (2-2-1) travel to Waterloo to match up against Laurier (0-3) on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 3:15 p.m.