Mercer 4, Appalachian State 2
MACON, GA - Appalachian State University men's soccer fell in non-conference action, 4-2, at Mercer University Saturday, September 24.
The loss drops the Mountaineers to 4-3-0 on the season as Mercer improves to 3-5. The match was relatively even, with Appalachian holding a slim 12-11 advantage in shots. Both teams were awarded five corner kicks as well.
Mercer jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals in the 27th and 45 minute before ASU's Tate Parrish (Acworth, Ga./Harrison) countered with a goal in the 48th minute courtesy of the Juan Obregon (Castle Rock, Colo.) assist.
Mercer kept the 2-1 advantage for the next 23 minutes before scoring again in the 71st and and 82nd minutes. Tim Bender put Appalachian back on the board in the 84th minute, directing the Matt Breeding pass into goal.
ASU's freshman netminder Alec Dufty (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) made four saves in the loss while his counterpart, David Bird, stopped five Mountaineer shots. Bender and Parrish both led the Apps with three shots each.
#18 Old Dominion 3, #20 Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, NC ? Brian Cvilikas netted his sixth and seventh scores of the 2005 campaign to lead No. 18 Old Dominion over No. 20 Davidson 3-0 in men’s soccer action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
With its second consecutive shutout over a nationally-ranked opponent, the Monarchs improve to 5-1-1 overall, while Davidson falls to 5-2-1.
“We lost to a very good soccer team that is playing with a lot of confidence,” said Wildcat head coach Matt Spear.
A senior forward from Highland Ranch, Colo., Cvilikas scored goals in the ninth and 71st minutes of play to run his scoring streak to four games. The eventual game-winner was scored on a cross from Ross Mackenzie on the left side. Cvilikas’ blasted home his second goal on a feed from Trevor Banks with 19:37 remaining.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats concluded the match with a 13-11 shots advantage. Ben Ashton finished with a pair of saves for Davidson, while ODU’s John Connelly turned away the only shot the ?Cats put on goal.
“You hate to hold the edge in shots like we did and not come away with a result at home,” said Coach Spear.
ODU’s Mackenzie added another assist when he found Yomby William on a corner kick just 10:26 into the second half to give the Monarchs a 2-0 cushion. William’s header past the diving Ashton was the first score of his career.
“We have come from behind a couple times this season, but against a quality team like Old Dominion makes it difficult,” commented Spear.
Radford 1, Elon 0
RADFORD, VA- Radford men’s soccer snapped a two-game losing streak, beating former Big South member Elon 1-0 in a non-conference match Saturday night at Patrick D. Cupp Stadium.
The win improves Radford’s record to 4-3-0 overall. The Phoenix fall to 4-4-1, suffering its third straight loss and remaining winless in the past five games.
RU junior Kike Negron (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico) scored the game’s only goal midway through the second half. Senior Fernando Ramos (Stafford, Va.) served a perfect pass over the Elon defense and to a streaking Negron. Negron then beat Elon junior keeper Taylor Saxe (Charlotte, N.C.) one-on-one to the left side to score the game winner. It was his team-high fifth goal of the season and his second game-winner.
Radford freshman Nicholas Leigh (Manassas, Va.) appeared to have his first career goal later in the first half, but the goal was negated when the Highlanders were ruled offsides.
The teams played an even first half, with RU holding a 4-3 edge in shots and Elon maintaining a 3-1 lead in saves to send the game into halftime scoreless. The Highlanders had an offensive flurry in the second half, posting nine shots to Elon’s three, but five second half saves by Saxe kept it close. Radford senior keeper Omar Zinoveev (Young, Uruguay) stopped two Elon shots, one in each half. The teams were even on corner kicks for the game with eight apiece.
#19 UNC Greensboro 4, William & Mary 3
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro freshman Henning Jonason scored on a free kick with 43 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Spartans to a 4-3 win over William & Mary in front of a men’s soccer FallFest crowd of 1,517 Saturday night.
Jonason scored after Randi Patterson was fouled while the Spartans were trying one last offensive surge with just over a minute. Jonason hit his ball from the middle of the field 25 yards out into the top right corner of the net for his second tally of the night and the game-winner.
UNCG had grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first half and looked to be well in control. Junior forward Randi Patterson scored on a header 9:35 into the match to open the scoring. The Hermann Award candidate leaped high in the air for a long ball from Jonason into the box and headed it over the head of the Tribe keeper for a 1-0 lead.
UNCG took a 2-0 lead at 19:09 when the Spartans’ other Hermann Award candidate found the net for the first time this season. Junior midfielder Scott Jones, who leads UNCG in assists with six this season, garnered a loose ball in the UNCG defensive end and dribbled the length of the field.
After going about 70 yards with the ball himself, Jones was left alone when two Tribe defenders both ran after Patterson, who was trailing on the play.
Jones then hit a blast into the net for his first tally of the season and a two-goal advantage.
The Tribe (2-3-0) cut the lead in half at 53:31. Jarrett Thomas scored his team-leading fifth of the season on a roundhouse kick off of Martin Brady’s corner kick to make it a 2-1 game.
UNCG (5-2-0) pushed the lead back to two just 3:23 later when freshman forward Thomas Campbell scored his first of the season. Patterson chased down a loose ball on the left side of the net and circled back to find Egill Atlason at the top of the box. Atlason then fed Campbell in front of the net, who blasted the ball into the net for a 3-1 advantage.
But William & Mary would not go away. Andrwe Hoxie scored unassisted after he intercepted a failed clear and put it into the net at 63:33 to make it 3-2. The Tribe then tied the game with 8:29 to play when Brendan McCurdy scored off a feed from Jarrett.
But Jonason’s blast with time ticking down won it for the Spartans, who now are 17-2-2 on FallFest since 1984. It also gave Michael Parker his 440th career coaching victory on the night that he was inducted into UNCG’s Athletics Hall of Fame.