Panthers Finish Home-Slate With 2-0 Victory Against NAIA Foe Johnson University 

Knoxville, TN - On a night where the first graduating Sophomores in program history were honored, it was the Sophomores who made the winning difference in the match. Ruben Cardoza got across two goals in the second half to top off his Sophomore night performance and lift the Panthers over NAIA foe Johnson University 2-0. 

"Tonight was about honoring 3 amazing young men who will be the first ever graduates from our  program, that's special and tonight was their night" Said Head Coach Josh Scott. "For us to display an entertaining performance with lots of grit and quality on sophomore night was poetic, I'm so happy for the team, they deserved the outcome"

The match was a gritty one to begin with. Both teams wanted the win and put forth the effort and determination to do so. The Panthers had two yellows on the night, while the Royals amassed two yellow and a red. The red card came when a Johnson defender pulled down a Panther from behind who had a clear path to a goal scoring opportunity. 

Scott continued: "We created chances early and worked hard to stay on top, even though we didn't capitalize in the first half, the energy and spirit from the lads was infectious, and it was just a matter of time until we got a goal"

Cardoza scored six minutes into the second half. That goal would energize the entire bench and fans in the stands and gave them enough fiery energy to power through the rain and cold to cheer on the Panthers for the next 40 minutes of the match. Ruben would go on to score an insurance goal with 37 seconds remaining in the match to give the Panthers the 2-0 lead.The win didn't come easy, and Johnson had their chances to score, but Goal Keeper Lizandro Moradel had a couple of incredible saves that were from close distance that kept the lead in-tact for Pellissippi State and secured the victory. 

Reflecting on the season, Coach Scott would say:

"Not having a conference to be part of and eligible for post-season playoffs could of easily challenged our motivation, and not having any of our players and the program recognized regionally or nationally due to us being the only NJCAA men's soccer program in Tennessee could of easily became a massive roadblock for our mentality- however the determination, pride and unity my lads have shown all season long is special and it speaks volumes on how close this group of players are and what we are building here. Tonight was a perfect way to end our home slate, what we have experienced, achieved and produced this season deserves much more however we understand what we are up against, and we will focus on our mission of developing players and people through the beautiful game while representing an incredible institution"

"Thank you to the players, parents, fans, supporters and everyone at Pellissippi State for helping us get off the ground, we have lots of work to do still and we will keep grinding" 

"To go fast, go alone, to go far, go together" - Coach Scott

The Panthers are looking to add one final road match before the season comes to an end. Keep your eyes on PSCCPanthers.com for any schedule updates.