ROCK HILL, S.C. - Blake Wilson and reigning SBC Offensive Player of the Week Javier Carbonell capitalized on a defensive miscue in the waning moments, scoring the go-ahead goal with just 38 seconds left on the clock to give Georgia Southern men's soccer a 2-1 non-conference road win over Winthrop on Tuesday evening.

The win was the fourth in the last five matches for the Eagles from Statesboro as Georgia Southern improved to 4-3 on the season, while the home-standing Winthrop Eagles fell to 2-4-1 overall on the year.

Winthrop came into the match unblemished at home, without a single goal conceded, and the first half saw that trend continue as neither team could dent the scoreboard before the break. Georgia Southern enjoyed a 6-2 edge in shots in the first half.

In the second half, the Eagles started to put the pressure forward, putting a header into the back of the net in the 64th minute, but an offsides call wiped away the goal. Aldair Cortes forced a save from Winthrop goalkeeper Kenneth Perkinson in the 75th minute and a follow-up try by Sebastian Gregerson went wide. 

The home team would strike first moments later, however, as Evan Stout's one-time shot from a Nil Vinyals cross struck home for the 1-0 Winthrop lead.

Less than a minute later, however, Carbonell would equalize for Georgia Southern. A foul on Winthrop gave the junior Spaniard a terrific look at goal from 22 yards out, and Carbonell struck a free kick into the lower far post for his first goal of the season.

The visiting Eagles continued to ramp up the pressure, getting a header on goal by Emil Laursen in the 82nd minute and a shot from Carbonell that went just wide left in the 88th minute. 

With under a minute left to play, a failed clearance by Winthrop was pounced upon by Carbonell, who dribbled to the end line, then flipped a pass back to the top of the six, where Wilson finished for the game-winner with only 38 ticks left on the clock. The goal was the third of the year for the senior, and all three of his goals this season have been game-winners for the Eagles.

"It was just like you would imagine it would be, scoring the winner in the last minute," Head Coach John Murphy said. "Tonight's match was very hard fought and difficult for us. I was impressed with Winthrop and their style of play at home. They scored first, but we came back to equalize relatively quickly, and I felt for the last 15 minutes we had a real grip on the game and found a way to win."

Georgia Southern finished the match with a 15-5 edge in shots. Each team notched five corner kicks on the evening, with all five of Georgia Southern's corners coming in the second half. Robert Flott made a pair of saves in net for Georgia Southern, while Kenneth Perkinson made three saves in net for Winthrop. Each team was whistled for 11 fouls and Winthrop was offsides seven times, compared to four for Georgia Southern.

"Credit to our team's fitness levels against a good team on the road," Murphy said. "Javi [Carbonell] was a standout for sure, and Blake scoring the winner for us was deserved as he ran the channels well tonight and held up the ball. Everyone put in a real shift, it was not an easy game for us. Now we will rest and recover and get ready for a great in-state rival in Mercer on Saturday."

The Eagles will host the Bears at 7 p.m. at Eagle Field in their next action back in Statesboro.