Eley's TD overshadowed what the Soul hoped would be the winning touchdown. Linebacker Jerome Hayes caught a botched handoff in midair and ran 47 yards for a score that gave the Soul a five-point lead with 1 minute, 37 seconds left.
"We did a lot of good things in the first half," Soul coach Mike Hohensee said. "We did none of those things right in the second half."
The visitors scored touchdowns on its first six possessions, but had just one touchdown and a field goal in its next seven possessions. And that included two turnovers.
"It was really tough tonight," Soul wide receiver Donovan Morgan said. "We came out really strong in the first half. I don't know what happened. I don't know if we came out lackadaisical or what in the second half."
The Soul came to Milwaukee looking to rebound after a humiliating 62-28 loss to the Chicago Rush.
"Without a doubt, it was an embarrassing loss," Soul lineman Darrell Campbell said before the game. "A lot of guys have to go home and do an assessment. They have to look in the mirror."
The game got off to a promising start as Brandon Perkins recovered a fumble on the kickoff and took it in for a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Justin Allgood threw TD passes to Alan Turner and Larry Brackins as the Soul took a 20-3 first-quarter lead.
Allgood finished the game 19 of 35 for 287 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Ryan Vena scored on a dive play in the second quarter for a 27-9 Soul lead. Allgood hooked up two more times with Turner for a 40-16 advantage.
It was 40-24 at halftime, and it was all downhill for the Soul.
A touchdown run by Jason Onyebuagu made the score 40-31.
The Soul ended up getting a 25-yard field goal by James Paul to hold a 12-point lead with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
The Mustangs kept the pressure on when Archer scored on a short run to cut the lead to five with less than 14 minutes left in the game.
