Elon 2, Furman 1
ELON, N.C. -- Elon freshman Nick Aparicio assisted on one score and then scored his second career game-winner to lead the Phoenix to a 2-1 Southern Conference victory over the visiting Furman Paladins in men’s soccer action on Wednesday night. With the win, Elon improves to 7-2-1 overall and 2-0-0 in league play. Furman drops to 4-4-0, 0-1-0.
The Phoenix struck first, taking a 1-0 lead at the 14:32 mark when Kiki Willis headed a ball from Aparicio past the Paladin keeper. Will Mason was also credited with an assist on the score. Willis now has a team-best four goals on the year.
Furman evened the score at one at 24:32 when Rob Victor scored for the second time this season. Victor put home a ball that was touched to him by Michael Erwood. Kevin Norman also earned an assist on the play as his corner kick set up the play.
The only score in the second half came off the foot of Aparicio. He scored his third goal of the season after Brett Paschall touched the ball to him after receiving it from Blake Wertz. The goal was Aparicio’s third this season.
Elon’s Taylor Saxe earned the win after making three saves in goal. Bryan Amos stopped just one shot for Furman on the night.
After a combined 17 fouls in the first period (Furman 9, Elon 8), the second stanza was marred with whistles. In the second half, the Paladins were whistled for 19 fouls to 15 for the Phoenix. Total, the two teams combined for 51 fouls. Only three cards were issued in the contest.
Assistant coach Dustin Fonder said, "I thought our team fought very hard tonight against a strong Furman squad. To come out with three points tonight will be huge in our quest for the SoCon title."
The Phoenix improved its record in Rhodes Stadium to 4-3 with the victory. All four wins have come against Southern Conference foes.
Up next for Elon will be a home date with UNC Asheville at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night at Rudd Field. Furman will visit Mercer that same day at 3:00 p.m.
Georgia Southern 0, UNC Greensboro 0 (2OT)
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Defense was the key Wednesday night, as the Georgia Southern men’s soccer team went the distance with UNC Greensboro, ending in a scoreless tie.
Georgia Southern (4-2-1) and UNC Greensboro (4-4-1) collectively fired 34 shots in the double-overtime stalemate. Led by experienced seniors Brad Mitchum (Snellville, Ga.) on defense and Adam Webb (Melbourne, Fla.) in goal, the Eagles’ united defense was able to diverge a majority of the UNCG shots. Only seven of the 21 total shots threatened to put the Spartans on the scoreboard, and Webb was there to make the saves, totaling seven.
“Collectively, our defending was great tonight,” said a head coach Kevin Kennedy. “It was a great effort. Adam (Webb) did great. I felt like we needed to go for someone with more experience. Adam got some great experience in goal.”
In the first half, the Spartans threatened to put the first goal on the scoreboard when a crossed pass was headed into the goal. But the goal was called off because of an offside foul - one of many instances when the Eagle defense made the difference.
On the other side of the field, the Eagles were able to get 13 shots off throughout the contest.
In the first half, senior Calvin Simon (Wilmington, N.C.) fired a shot on goal, but was saved. Simon led all Eagles with four shots on the evening.
In the second half, freshman Jon Cox (Alpharetta, Ga.) had a breakaway opportunity after receiving a through-ball from the midfield. With a defender just beside him, Cox fired a shot that was saved by Spartans keeper Nate Berry. Berry had three saves on the night. Cox tallied two shots, one on goal.
In a race against the clock with 57 seconds remaining in the first overtime, Kellen Stanley (Savannah, Ga.) fired a rocket that bounced off the right-side post.
In the second overtime period with 6:51 remaining, Daniel Smith (Marietta, Ga.) received a floating pass in the air, went parallel, and fired a shot off his head. Again, Berry was there to make the stop.
UNCG is a very good team,” said Kennedy. “We stressed to not make the big mistakes or give away the foul that would make the big difference.”
Though the two teams tallied 16 fouls apiece, the Eagles avoided any critical mistakes on the defensive end.
In a game that saw the Eagles go the distance with the defending Southern Conference champions, Kennedy sees the deadlock versus the Spartans as a good foundation to build upon for the remaining Southern Conference matches.
“I’m pleased with the performance because we put ourselves in a position to win the game. Its going to be a game we can build on.”
Having kicked off SoCon play with the recent tie, the Eagles next travel to Appalachian State, September 23, for a match-up that begins at 1 p.m.
UNC Asheville 2, Appalachian State 1
ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? A strong offensive attack in the final 10 seconds didn’t yield a goal as the Appalachian State men’s soccer team fell to UNC Asheville, 2-1, at Greenwood Field Wednesday afternoon.
Appalachian entered the match ranked seventh in the south region and falls to 5-2-0. The Bulldogs improve their record to 3-4-0 with the victory. ASU outshot UNCA 17-14 and had a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal.
UNCA scored first in the 18th minute on an unassisted goal from Patrick Tate. Tate’s shot was an intended cross, however strong winds that prevailed all match redirected the ball and fooled the keeper to give UNCA a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs carried the lead through halftime and added the eventual gamewinner in the 54th minute as Nathan Neal scored on a long cross from Daniel Bandoly.
Appalachian cut into the lead in the 62nd minute courtesy of Arie Muniz’s (Spring, Texas) goal off a pass from Sean Sassano (Gastonia, N.C.). The goal was Muniz’s second in as many matches while Sassano has now recorded three assists in the last two matches.
The Mountaineers were relentless in their pursuit of the equalizer but were denied at every opportunity. The match appeared destined for overtime in the final 10 seconds when a long ASU throw in carried into the goalmouth and was booted towards the goal, however, a UNCA defender was there to make the team save and kick the ball off the endline to preserve the UNCA victory.
Appalachian will return home to start the Southern Conference on Saturday, September 23 versus Georgia Southern. Kickoff at the ASU Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Wake Forest 1, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. Marcus Tracy finally connected on one of his four shots
with an 89th minute score to lift the No. 6 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
over upset-minded Davidson 1-0 in men?s soccer action at Alumni Stadium Wednesday evening. With the victory, Wake is off to its best start since the
1983 season improving to 7-1-0, while the Wildcats second consecutive setback to a Top 10 opponent drops them to 4-5-0 overall.
?We wanted the guys to fight hard and lay it all on the line, and we accomplished that,? said Davidson head coach Matt Spear. ?Wake Forest is an extremely talented team and the best we?ve played all season.?
After numerous opportunities for the Demon Deacons, Zach Schilawski finally set up the game-winning strike with a through ball to Tracy, who needed just one touch to find the back of the net for his third goal of the campaign.
Prior to the game?s only strike, Davidson was forced to play a man down when central defender Ryan Adeleye was issued his second yellow card at the 84:48 mark for a foul he committed just outside the box.
In the 50th minute of play, Schilawski had a golden opportunity to give Wake Forest the lead, but Robby Goldsberry, making his first career start in net for the Wildcats, came off his mark to make a diving save to his right on Schilawski?s one-on-one attempt.
?I thought Robby and Tim Roark were terrific in their first collegiate starts tonight,? commented Coach Spear. ?Robby stepped up to the challenge and made some big saves coming off his line when he was under a tremendous amount of pressure.?
A freshman from Tampa, Fla., Goldsberry turned away seven Wake Forest attempts, the most for a Wildcat keeper in a single game since current assistant coach Bart Creasman stopped eight in a 1-1 double overtime draw against Vanderbilt on Sept. 19, 2003.
Davidson?s best chance to grab a 1-0 advantage came in the 82nd minute when Tom Lavan received a ball from Mac Wilkie, turned and ripped a shot from just outside the 18 that Wake Forest keeper Brian Edwards got a hand on deflecting it off the cross bar. Edwards diving save was his only of the night en route to his fifth shutout of the season and 23rd of his career.
The victory for Wake was its ninth straight over the Wildcats as it improves to 20-4-1 in the all-time series.
Wake Forest controlled the shots column with a 15-8 advantage.
The Wildcats continue their three-game homestand in a 7 p.m. match with in-state foe Campbell Saturday, Sept. 23. Wake Forest will also take to the field at the same time as it welcomes the defending national champion Maryland Terrapins to Winston-Salem.
?We have to build off a great effort even though we lost the contest. We don?t play these matches just to earn the national spotlight, we use these games as preparation for the second half of the season and conference play.?