Elon 2, Davidson 1 (OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. Elon’s Nick Aparicio netted a 93rd minute golden-goal and set up a first half strike to lead the Phoenix over Davidson 2-1 in both teams’ Southern Conference men’s soccer opener and the first round of the Davidson adidas Classic Friday evening at Alumni Stadium in front of 1,215 fans. The win was the third straight for Elon as it begins the season 3-0-0 overall and 1-0-0 in the SoCon, while the Wildcats’ fall to 0-3-0 on the campaign and 0-1-0 in league play.
After allowing a goal in the closing seconds of regulation, Elon caught Davidson off guard with a quick counter after sitting in for a majority of the game. Phoenix forward Kiki Willis played a ball into the box that was kicked around and finally gathered by Aparicio, who found the back of the net for the game-winner and his first goal of the year.
“Tonight’s match was a typical conference war with great intensity right down to the wire, said Davidson head coach Matt Spear. “I felt we had a majority of the possession, but lacked creativity and composure to score more goals.”
In the closing seconds, Davidson was forced to push all 11 players forward setting up one last chance at an equalizer. Wildcat freshman Charlie Reiter received a throw-in from Josh Sonneland and served it into the box from about 40 yards out finding Robby Hoak, who then headed it into the back corner of the net with just 4.5 ticks left in overtime to send the game into an extra session.
Hoak, a junior from Atlanta, Ga., was second on the club a year ago with eight goals and 19 points. Tonight’s 90th minute score was the 13th score of his career and first of the season after starting the first two games at defender for the Wildcats.
Davidson controlled play in the first 43 minutes of the contest, but it was Elon that struck first with just 1:09 left on the first half clock. After a Wildcat foul just shy off midfield, Elon’s Aparicio played a free kick into the box to Steven Kinney, whose header floated just out of the reach of Davidson keeper Ben Ashton for his second goal of the season.
The Wildcats let a great scoring chance slip away at the 16 minute mark when Hoak just missed finishing a Mac Wilkie cross that would have given Davidson an early advantage.
“We had a number of early chances and if we could have finished some of those opportunities, it would have made a world of difference,” commented Coach Spear.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats held a 15-8 shots advantage, including a 7-1 margin in the final half and overtime period combined. Preseason all-conference selection Taylor Saxe turned away four shots in net for Elon, while Ashton stopped a pair of his own.
Prior to tonight’s loss, Davidson was a perfect 4-0-0 in its annual event.
The third annual Davidson adidas Classic will conclude Sunday afternoon with the Wildcats’ entertaining Loyola at 1 p.m. follow by Elon battling Charlotte at 3 p.m.
“We can’t get down on ourselves, we are very close to turning the corner and have to take every game one at a time.”
Winthrop 4, Wofford 0
BOONE, N.C. -- The Wofford men's soccer team fell, 4-0, against Winthrop in neutral-site action Friday afternoon as the two schools kicked off the Broyhill Inn & Conference Center Appalachian Classic in Boone, N.C.
The Eagles tallied the game's first goal at 33:19 when Matthew Skonicki sent a cross through the goal mouth to Stephen Nsereko, who headed it home past Terrier keeper Joey Taylor.
Winthrop (3-0) later added its next tally in the second half, at 59:13, when this time Nsereko was on the passing end resulting in another header goal by the Eagles. Daniel Revivo was credited with the score.
The Eagles added their third mark on the scoreboard at 75:01 when David Kenga fed Saidi Issac for a one-on-one breakaway with backup Wofford goalkeeper Thomas Hunter III, who was seeing his first collegiate action.
Isaac then added his second goal of the game and Winthrop's final tally at 83:27.
Senior Joel Kozak led the Terriers (1-2) with three shots, while sophomore Thomas Coley added a pair.
Both teams will continue play in the event hosted by fellow SoCon institution Appalachian State Sunday. The Terriers will again be in neutral site action when they square off against Western Kentucky at Noon.
Appalachian State 4, Western Kentucky 1
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University men’s soccer staged an impressive, 4-1, win over visiting Western Kentucky Friday evening in the second match of the Broyhill Inn Appalachian Classic at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Mountaineers outshot the Hilltoppers, 24-8, and had 16 shots on goal.
Junior Corey Lugger (Irmo, S.C.) paced the Apps’ side with four points on a goal and two assists. The win improves ASU’s record to 3-0-0, while WKU falls to 1-2-0
Lugger opened up the scoreboard in just the third minute scoring on a header inside the box on the high pass from McCoy Livingston (Charlotte, N.C.).
Sophomore Juan Obregon (Castle Rock, Colo.) added the eventual gamewinner in the 15th minute on a pass from Lugger for his third goal on the season.
The Hilltoppers got their lone goal from Alex Sheikh in the 17th minute on a ball that ricocheted off the ASU defense and landed at Sheikh’s feet and was kicked in from 25 yards out. The Mountaineers responded just two minutes later with a goal from junior Sean Sassano (Gastonia, N.C.) courtesy of Cameron McCarthy’s (Auckland, New Zealand) assist to take a convincing 3-1 lead into halftime.
Appalachian opened the second half more deliberately, but quickly regained the offensive edge to outshoot WKU, 14-3, in the half. Appalachian’s lone goal in the second half came in the 70th minute with Livingston’s first goal of the season on a corner kick taken by Lugger. The Mountaineers continued to stymie the Hilltoppers for the remaining 20 minutes of the match to cruise to the 4-1 victory and 3-0-0 start. The win marks the first time since 1998 that Appalachian has started a season 3-0-0 and just the third time since the 1980 Southern Conference Championship squad did so.
Sassano led the Apps with seven shots, five of them on goal, while eight other Mountaineers also tallied shots on net. Greg Walters (Raleigh, N.C.) remained undefeated in goal, successfully stopping four shots in the 85 minutes he played. WKU’s goalkeepers and defense combined to save 13 shots with starter Pat Rickman stopping nine.
The ASU side will look to remain unbeaten and capture the Broyhill Inn Appalachian Classic title on Sunday, September 3 at 2:30 p.m. versus Winthrop at the ASU Soccer Stadium. The Eagles easily defeated Wofford, 4-0, in the tournament opener Friday. At noon Wofford and WKU will take to the pitch. Any further changes to the schedule due to weather will be promptly posted on www.GoASU.com.
Richmond 2, Furman 1
Conway, S.C. ? The Richmond Spiders opened a two goal lead shortly before the hour mark and held on to down Furman 2-1 in men’s soccer action Friday at the Coastal Carolina/adidas Invitational at CCU Soccer Field.
The Paladins found themselves down 1-0 in the 21st minute when Anders Walleck scored off of a free kick. After the half, Scott Loesser slotted a shot into the lower lefthand corner past Furman keeper Bryan Amos to double the Richmond advantage.
Furman (1-2-0) pulled a goal back at the 82:13 mark as freshman Jordan Howard’s driving shot was deflected into the lower righthand corner to trim the lead to 2-1. Despite holding a 10-4 edge in shots on goal, Furman could not find the equalizer.
Richmond (1-1-1) keeper Scott Sciochetti notched eight saves in the win while Amos recorded two stops for the Paladins. Furman held an 8-1 edge in corner kicks.
The Paladins return to action Sunday against Bowling Green at 11:30a.m. at the CCU/adidas Invitational.