Birmingham Southern 1, College of Charleston 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The College of Charleston men’s soccer team was defeated by Birmingham-Southern, 1-0 in the final match of the Jim ?N Nicks/Puma BSC Classic at Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday.
Robert Geil scored the only goal of the match for Birmingham-Southern (3-5-0) in the 62nd minute of action.
CofC (5-2-1) had numerous scoring opportunities in the match, highlighted by their six shot taken in the second half, in comparison to Birmingham-Southern’s four. The Cougars also attempted all four of their corner kick attempts in the second half.
Freshman Kareem Yearwood led the Cougars with two shots taken. Junior Corbin Waller had two saves in the match.
CofC finished the BSC Classic with a record of 1-1. The Cougars won their first match of the Classic on Sept. 15, when they defeated UAB, 4-2.
CofC returns to action on Sept. 22, when it faces St. Francis in the first match of the New Mexico Youth Soccer Association Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. The match will begin at 5 p.m.
South Carolina 3, Davidson 1
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The No. 10 South Carolina Gamecocks erased a 1-0 halftime deficit with three second half goals to come from behind and defeat Davidson 3-1 in men's soccer action Sunday afternoon at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium. The victory was the sixth straight for nationally-ranked USC as it improves to 6-1-0 overall, while the Wildcats four-game winning streak comes to an end dropping them to 4-4-0 on the campaign.
"Today's match was a tale of two periods," said Davidson head coach Matt Spear. "We came out strong to open the contest, but they stepped it up in the second period and we crumbled. It's disappointing to to lose a chance at a great opportunity. To beat good teams you have to play a full 90 minutes of soccer."
The Wildcats for the second consecutive match struck first to grab an early 1-0 advantage. After receiving a pass from midfielder Mac Wilkie, Davidson forward Tom Lavan worked his way to the middle of the field and blasted one from 25 yards out finding the top right corner of the net for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
"It takes an awful lot courage and skill to execute an opportunity like that. It was a great finish on Tom's part," commented Spear on the Wildcats' 15th minute score.
Lavan, a native of Omaha, Neb., had a great chance to give the 'Cats a 2-0 lead just minutes later. After a Gamecock miscue on a header attempt, Lavan beat USC keeper Mike Gustavson to the loose ball near the endline, but couldn't curl his attempt around the post hitting the side of the frame.
In a very tightly contested first period, Davidson held a slim 4-3 shots advantage.
Just over 12 minutes into the second stanza, South Carolina netted the equalizer and never looked back scoring on three consecutive shot attempts. Rob Charest tied the score at 1-1 when his header off a Gamecock corner kick sailed over the head of Davidson goalkeeper Ben Ashton.
Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year Mike Sambursky provided the Gamecock's with the eventual game-winner in the 63rd minute of play. South Carolina's David Smith threw the ball into Sambursky, who then broke down the Wildcat defense and ripped a low strike into the back of the net for his fourth goal and 14th point of the year.
South Carolina added an insurance goal and its final of the afternoon on a Ryan Leeton penalty kick with just under 20 minutes left in the match.
The Gamecocks controlled the second half out-shooting Davidson 7-1 for a final count of 10-5. Gustavson finished with a pair of saves, while Ashton turned away one of his own for the Wildcats.
Davidson returns to action and Alumni Stadium when it battles its second consecutive Top 10 opponent in a 7 p.m. match with No. 7 Wake Forest Wednesday, Sept. 20. The Gamecocks will also return to the field Wednesday when they travel to Cary, N.C., to face N.C. State in their final non-conference match of the season.
"We know we can play with this caliber of a team. Wake Forest is an excellent team, with the game being at home we have to play like we're the team to beat. We're fortunate to have another chance at a great opponent."
Old Dominion 1, UNC Greensboro 0
NORFOLK, VA - Ross Mackenzie connected on a penalty kick midway through the first half as the match’s only goal as Old Dominion defeated UNC Greensboro, 1-0, in men’s soccer action at the Stihl Classic on Saturday afternoon.
The Monarchs (5-1-0) scored the only goal of the match at 24:29 when Ross Mackenzie netted a penalty kick.
Old Dominion held a 20-8 advantage in shots, but only a 6-3 margin in actual shots on goal. Nate Berry had five saves for UNCG.
With the loss, UNCG dropped to 4-4-0 on the season. The Spartans will host Coastal Carolina on Friday night at 8 pm in a match televised internationally by Fox Soccer Channel.