BECKLEY, W.Va. - A late second half surge spelled doom for the Bluefield College men's soccer team and lifted the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs to a 4-3 win, Wednesday night at the Paul Cline Soccer Complex in Beckley. Goals by TWC in the 68th and 80th minute erased BC's lead and sent the Rams to their third consecutive loss.
Bluefield took the lead in the 23rd minute on a goal from Florian Gleissner with the assist going to Jean-Emmanuel Ahouman. It proved to be the only goal of the first half.
Tennessee Wesleyan knotted the game in the 52nd minute when Max Never curved a corner kick into the net. Less than a minute later Bluefield responded with Gleissner scored his second goal, this one unassisted, putting the Rams back on top 2-1.
Tennessee Wesleyan knotted the game in the 64th minute when Never fed the ball to Nduka Kemjika who found the back of the net. A mere 14 seconds later Bluefield retook the lead once again on a goal by Ahouman. Jan Breitensmoser provided the assist.
TWC tied the game for the final time in the 68th minute on a goal by Jonny Quesne and in the 80th minute Sammy Mawuko scored the go-ahead goal with the assist coming from  Laurence Hutchinson.
The teams battled furiously in the final minutes but Bluefield could not score. The physical match saw a total of 34 fouls called, 19 against Bluefield and 15 against Tennessee Wesleyan, with a total of six yellow cards given, four to BC, two to TWC. Oscar Hernandez had five saves for the Rams who had 15 shots during the game. Tennessee Wesleyan's Daneil O'Hare also had five saves and the Bulldogs had 20 shots in the contest.
Bluefield is now 3-6 overall and 0-3 in Appalachian Athletic Conference play. The Rams return to the pitch Saturday at Bryan.