#18 Furman 2, Elon 1
Greenville, S.C. -- Patrick Murray and Haris Cekic combined on two second half goals to rally 18th-ranked Furman past the Elon Phoenix 2-1 and give the Paladins the outright Southern Conference regular season title and the top seed in next month’s league tournament Saturday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With the match knotted 1-1 and less than six minutes remaining, Murray backheeled a pass to Cekic who played Murray through on the keeper. The junior hammered a shot inside the near post past Phoenix netminder Clint Irwin at 84:22 for the eventual game-winner.
“I’m just so pleased for our guys and especially the seniors,” said Paladin head coach Doug Allison. “It is hard to win a championship in this league and we beat a very, very good Elon team tonight to do it.”
After applying pressure on the Furman backline for much of the first half, Elon broke through in the 42nd minute. Justin Wyatt played a long ball down the center of the field to substitute Douglas Boateng who flicked a header over charging keeper Bryan Amos and into an empty net to give the Phoenix a 1-0 lead.
Furman answered with an equalizer just after intermission. Senior Eliot Paschalis headed a ball into the path of Murray who found Cekic streaking down the left side. The freshman took a low shot that grazed the inside of the right post to even the game at the 48:49 mark.
Furman held a 13-12 edge in shot attempts while shots on goal were equal at six apiece. The Paladins attempted six corner kicks and Elon attempted five.
The win improved Furman to 14-2-0 overall and gave the Paladins a perfect 7-0-0 record in SoCon play. It marks the first time a league team finished the regular season with a perfect league mark since Furman accomplished the feat in 2002. The loss dropped Elon to 7-4-4 overall and 4-2-0 inside the league.
With the victory, Furman clinched the number one seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament. The Paladins will host a quarterfinal match against at Stone Stadium against an opponent to be determined on November 10, at 6 p.m.
Elon travels to Radford for a Tuesday match at 7 p.m. Furman will continue its three-match homestand hosting Belmont on November 2, at 6 p.m.
College of Charleston 1, Appalachian State 0
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. -- A successful penalty kick by Casey Gold lifted the College of Charleston over Appalachian State in SoCon men's soccer action on senior night at Patriots Point field Saturday night.
"It was a great competitive game," said CofC Head Coach Ralph Lundy. "What a tough game. But we turned the tide with effort and created chances."
The win brings the Cougars' record to 10-4-1 overall and 4-1-0 in the conference, while the Mountaineers fall to 6-7-3 overall, 2-4-1 in league play.
The first half proved to be a physical defensive battle with a combined five more fouls than shots and one caution.
At the end of the first 45 minutes of play, the game remained scoreless. The Cougar defense of Doug Edwards, Ryan Kell, Branko Gavric and Sean Bateau held the Mountaineers to just three first-half shots. CofC had five shots of its own.
The Cougars came close to scoring in the first half when Kareem Yearwood caught ASU goalie Greg Walters off his post. Yearwood took a shot on goal but sent the ball just over the crossbar.
Gold put the Cougars on the board after the Mountaineers committed a foul in their own penalty box. He took the penalty shot and found the back of the net for his first goal of the season, putting CofC up 1-0 (62:00).
"I'm real proud of my boys," Lundy continued. "Corbin (Waller) was again just amazing in the goal, he made the game-saving play."
CofC held a final shot advantage of 12 shots to 10, with eight taken on goal. Senior goalie Corbin Waller made seven saves in the effort and Walter made seven stops of his own.
The Cougars will finish the regular season on the road as they travel to Statesboro, Ga., to take on Georgia Southern at 6 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 23.
Davidson 2, Wofford 1 (OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- An own goal with just 38 seconds remaining in the first overtime lifted Davidson to a key 2-1 victory over Wofford in Southern Conference men’s soccer action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
With the triumph, the Wildcats extend their unbeaten streak to four, improving to 4-10-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the league, while the Terriers fall to 4-11-1 and 0-7-0.
The difference maker came when Davidson’s Aaron West ripped a low corner kick to the near post and the ball caromed into the goal off a defender’s head on an attempted clear.
Despite neither team attacking much in the opening period, Davidson had the best scoring chance when Tom Lavan’s flick off a Yannick Pilgrim cross missed just wide in the 31st minute.
After the Wildcats were unable to capitalize on a number of great opportunities early into the second half, Wofford grab the game’s first advantage on Callum Easter’s 59th minute strike. Easter’s second goal of the season came when he forced a turnover, beat a pair of Wildcat defenders, and found the top of the net with a blast from 15 yards out.
With just 13:40 remaining in regulation, Davidson’s Lavan provided the equalizer off a long centering pass from West.
The Wildcats finished with a slim 12-10 edge in shots. Davidson’s Matt McElroy recorded three saves en route to his second straight win in as many outings, while Joey Taylor stopped five between the pipes for Wofford.
Since joining the league in 1997, Wofford has failed to knock off Davidson in 13 attempts. The Terriers lone series victory came during the 1980 season.
Davidson will continue its five-game homestand with a 7 p.m. contest against No. 24 Duke Wednesday, Oct. 31. Wofford hosts Lipscomb Nov. 2 at 6 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 2, Georgia Southern 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Nirav Kadam and Travis Young scored first half goals and they held up through heavy downpours as UNC Greensboro topped Georgia Southern, 2-0, in a key Southern Conference men’s soccer match Friday night.
With the win, the Spartans (7-8-0, 3-3-0) moved into a tie with College of Charleston in third place at nine points, but more importantly moved closer to an all important home game in the first round of the SoCon Tournament. If College of Charleston, which still has three remaining league games, beats Appalachian State on Saturday in Charleston, the Spartans would be in clear control of the fourth spot.
With an Appalachian State loss on Saturday, only Davidson (1-3-1 for 4
points) could surpass UNCG for the fourth spot at that point by winning out. The Wildcats host Wofford on Saturday and face College of Charleston on November 3. Georgia Southern could only tie the Spartans if they beat College of Charleston in their last league match on Tuesday. UNCG would still have the head-to-head over the Eagles by virtue of Friday night’s win.
The Southern Conference Tournament’s quarterfinal matches will be played on November 10 at the top four seeds. UNCG will host the semifinal and final rounds on November 16 and 18.
Kadam opened the scoring at 6:18. Jokull Elisabetarson played a long ball that sloshed into the box to a near stop. Kadam then dribbled once and hit a shot into the lower left side of the goal for his third tally of the season and a 1-0 Spartan lead.
Kadam assisted on the second goal nearly 16 minutes later. From a crowd in the middle of the box, he played a ball to the right side which Young kicked out of the air and blasted into the right side of the net. It was Young’s second goal of the season.
That was all the Spartans would need in the sloppy conditions. UNCG outshot the Eagles, 26-10, including 15-3 in the first half.
UNCG, which is now 14-0-2 and has outscored the Eagles 61-15 all-time, returns to action on November 3 when they close out conference play on the road against backyard rival Elon in a math that may ? or may not ? mean home field advantage.
AGATE
Georgia Southern.... 0 0 - 0
UNC Greensboro...... 2 0 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY:UNCG Kadam (Elisabetarson), 6:18; UNCG Young (Kadam), 22:04; Shots: Georgia Southern 10, UNC Greensboro 26. Saves: Georgia Southern 8 (Ralph 7; Team Save 1), UNC Greensboro 4 (Janda 4). Corner kicks Georgia Southern 6, UNCG 6. Fouls: Georgia Southern 16, UNCG 16.