Greenville, SC ?Top-seeded UNC Greensboro defended its tournament title on Sunday, scoring twice in the second half en route to a 3-0 win over second-seeded Georgia Southern in the 2006 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium on the campus of Furman University on Sunday afternoon. UNC Greensboro (14-7-1) earns the SoCon’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship with the win. Georgia Southern ends its season with a 10-6-3 record, improving its record from 7-10-1 in 2005. This was also the first final appearance for the Eagles since 1996.
UNCG got on the board in the 11th minute of the game when Henning Jonasson took a long ball and slid a cross pass to Scott Jones, who hit the back of the net on the far post. The Spartans held off the Eagles to take a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
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UNC Greensboro's Scott Jones |
The Spartans added to their total in the 72nd minute when Randi Patterson took a cross from the right side from Travis Young and chipped it into the far side for a 2-0 lead. Thomas Campbell scored two minutes later for UNCG, taking a long ball from D.J. McCurry and beating a defender to score.
UNC Greensboro outshot Georgia Southern 13-10 but the Eagles had multiple chances in the second half, including numerous blocked shots by UNCG’s defenders. UNCG goalkeeper Nate Berry recorded three saves in the shutout, his seventh shutout of the season.
Four UNCG players and three Georgia Southern players were named to the All-Tournament team. Henning Jonasson was selected as the Most Outstanding Player, joining teammates Jokul Elisabetarson, Michael FitxGerald and Matt Elliott on the all-tournament squad. Georgia Southern was represented by Brad Mitchum, Calvin Simon and Jason Tindall.
The NCAA Men’s Soccer selection show will be on Monday, November 6 between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on ESPN News.
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Georgia Southern's Calvin Simon |
2006 Men’s Soccer All-Tournament Team
Juan Obregon, Appalachian State
McCoy Livingston, Appalachian State
David Prentice, Furman
Kevin Norman, Furman
Brad Mitchum, Georgia Southern
Calvin Simon, Georgia Southern
Jason Tindall, Georgia Southern
Matt Elliott, UNC Greensboro
Jokull Elsabetarson, UNC Greensboro
Michael FitzGerald, UNC Greensboro
Henning Jonasson, UNC Greensboro
MVP: Henning Jonasson, UNC Greensboro