Georgia Southern 1, Furman 0
Greenville, SC ?Second-seeded Georgia Southern edged third-seeded Furman 1-0 in the second semifinal game of the 2006 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium on the campus of Furman University on Friday evening. Georgia Southern (10-5-3) advances to the championship game of the SoCon Tournament and will face UNC Greensboro, the winner of the first semifinal. Furman ends it s season 11-7-1.
Georgia Southern got on the board early when Daniel Smith took a pass from Calvin Simon and hit the upper corner of the net from 13 yards in the seventh minute. The Eagles and Paladins battled into the half with Georgia Southern taking the 1-0 lead into halftime.
Furman outshot Georgia Southern 10-2 in the second half and had numerous chances to score but the Eagle defense held off the offensive effort. GSU goalkeeper Adam Webb recorded five saves, four in the second half. Furman goalkeeper Bryan Amos recorded four saves.
Georgia Southern will take on defending tournament champion UNC Greensboro in the championship match will be played at Furman on Sunday, Nov.5 at 1 p.m. Georgia Southern will be looking for its first tournament title while UNC Greensboro is hoping to defend its 2005 crown. This is Georgia Southern’s first appearance in the final since the 1996 championship. The two teams battled to a 0-0 tie in the regular season.
UNC Greensboro 2, Appalachian State 0
Greenville, SC ? Despite a barrage of scoring opportunities by both teams, only top-seeded UNC Greensboro was able to find the back of the net, as the Spartans knocked out fifth-seeded Appalachian State, 2-0, in the first semifinal game of the 2006 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium on the campus of Furman University on Friday evening. UNCG (13-7-1) advances to the championship game of the SoCon Tournament for the second consecutive year. ASU, the only team to hand UNCG a league loss in the regular season, ends its season at 10-7-2.
After the first half ended in a scoreless tie, the Spartans put the game-winner on the board in the 62nd minute of play. Junior D.J.
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| UNCG celebrates after its game-winning goal agsint ASU |
McCurry sent a perfect cross from the far right corner of the box to Michael FitzGerald who headed it squarely into the back of the net for his ninth goal of the season.
The Mountaineers had several chances to put away the equalizer, especially in the final minutes. With under two minutes on the clock, senior midfielder Shawn Berting tried to extend his career with a point-blank shot that was blocked by the Greensboro defense. Teammate Sean Sassano followed with a rebound shot that went just wide of the net.
As ASU pushed everyone forward in the final seconds, senior Randi Patterson scored a breakaway insurance goal on a feed from FitzGerald to seal the deal. Patterson ranks second in the conference with 11 goals on the season.
The first half started quietly, but midway through the opening stanza, UNC Greensboro got the first of what turned out to be several legitimate scoring chances. Sophomore forward Henning Jonasson fed the ball to Patterson in the far left corner of the box. But the game remained scoreless as Patterson’s shot sailed just high over the goal.
Only minutes later, the Mountaineers got in on the action when sophomore midfielder Juan Obregon nearly gave ASU the lead with a strike that banged off the center of the crossbar at the 21:05 mark.
The near score seemed to fire up UNC Greensboro as the Spartans dominated the attack over the next 15 minutes of play. After several shots by sophomore Thomas Campbell, Jonasson took a shot that ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar, dropping straight down at the edge of the goal box. ASU keeper Greg Walters managed to clear the ball out of dangerous territory. Walters tallied four saves in the contest, all in the first half.
Appalachian finally got back on the attack with just under five minutes to play in the half. Junior defender Todd Topolka found the ball just a few feet from the goal, but his shot was stopped by Spartan goalie Nate Berry to keep the game tied at zero at the break. Berry made three stops in the contest.
For the game, ASU held a slight advantage in shots, 13-12, and both teams took five corner kicks.
Defending tournament champion UNC Greensboro awaits the winner of the second semifinal game featuring No. 2 Georgia Southern against No. 3 Furman. The championship match will also be played at Furman on Sunday, Nov.5 at 1 p.m.