#2 College of Charleston 3, #7 Georgia Southern 1
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. -- First-half goals by Kareem Yearwood, Zach Prince and Casey Gold lifted the College of Charleston over Georgia Southern, 3-1, in round one of the Southern Conference men's soccer tournament this afternoon at Patriots Point Field.
"We gave a gutsy performance," said CofC Associate Head Coach Ralph Polson. "The good thing is, we're going on to the next round."
With the win, the Cougars' record improves to 13-4-1 and they advance to the semifinal round in Greensboro, N.C. Georgia Southern ends its year 6-11-0.
A goal by Jarryd Nolette put the Eagles on the board in the first minute of the match. After a free kick at midfield, Nolette found the ball in heavy traffic. He headed it from five yards in front of the net to put GSU up 1-0 (00:29).
Yearwood, a sophomore forward, responded with a goal for the Cougars to even the score. He took the ball up the left side of the field on a breakaway and found the net from seven yards to the left of the goal (2:20). The goal was the 13th of the year for the All-Conference honoree.
Yearwood would assist on a goal by Prince in the 14th minute. Prince received a pass from Yearwood and shot from the left side for the go-ahead goal to put the Cougars up 2-1.
The final goal of the game came from Gold, a junior from Bradenton, Fla. Forward Matt Morris rebounded a shot by Yearwood and passed off to Gold who made the final score 3-1 (19:24).
Despite several second-half chances, the score stayed the same for the remainder of the game.
The Eagles outshot Charleston 11-10 and held a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Senior goalkeeper Corbin Waller made six saves on the day, while GSU keeper Joey Ralph made four saves.
The Cougars advance to the semifinal round and will face the winner of the UNC Greensboro-Davidson match at 7:00 p.m. Friday, November 16, in Greensboro, N.C.
#1 Furman 2, #8 Wofford 0
Greenville, S.C. -- Jordan Howard and Shea Salinas both netted second half goals and Bryan Amos notched his eighth shutout of the season as 23rd-ranked Furman downed Wofford 2-1 in Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinal round action Saturday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The Paladins improved to 16-3-0 on the season and advanced to face the winner of Sunday’s Elon/Appalachian State match in the SoCon semifinals November 16, at 4:30 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C. Wofford concluded its season at 7-12-1.
“I’m proud of our guys for getting the job done tonight,” said Furman coach Doug Allison. “Wofford was a scrappy team who has been playing really well of late and it was good for us to get the win and advance.”
The breaks looked to be going Wofford’s way in the early going. Furman’s Brooks Duff was taken down in the box to earn a penalty kick, but Howard’s effort slammed into the crossbar in the 31st minute to keep the game scoreless.
The Paladins finally broke through shortly after intermission. Patrick Murray drew the attention of three defenders in the middle of the box and sent a pass back out top to Howard. The sophomore ran onto the bouncing ball and hammered a dipping shot into the righthand side for his first goal of the season at 52:55.
In the 89th minute, Murray added his 12th assist of the season and helped up Furman’s lead to 2-0 on a goal from Salinas. With Wofford pressing forward the ball bounced out to Murray who dribbled 60 yards before playing a pass to Salinas for the uncontested tap-in.
Amos notched one save to record the clean sheet while the Terriers’ Joey Taylor stopped two shots. Furman held a 9-6 edge in shot attempts. Wofford attempted three corner kicks and the Paladins attempted two. The physical match featured just 26 total fouls, but seven yellow cards.
#3 UNC Greensboro 1, #6 Davidson 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Thomas Campbell’s 11th goal of the season midway through the first half held up as third-seeded UNC Greensboro advanced in the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament with a 1-0 win over Davidson at UNCG Soccer Stadium on Saturday night.
With the win, UNCG (10-7-2) advances to the semifinal round of the tournament next Friday. UNCG is the host for the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament. The Spartans will face second-seeded College of Charleston, a 3-1 winner over Georgia Southern, at 7 pm. Top-seeded Furman, which came away with a 2-0 win over Wofford on Saturday, will await the winner of Sunday’s Elon-Appalachian State game. That semifinal will be played at 4:30 pm. Sunday’s final is set for 1 pm.
Davidson, the tournament’s No. 6 seed, finishes the season with a 4-14-1 mark, having lost its last three. It is the seventh straight year that UNCG has won a quarterfinal match. The Spartans are the two-time defending tournament champions.
Campbell scored on a shot from the middle of the field about 30 yards out. After a Davidson foul, Jokull Elisabetarson wisely played a quick restart touch to Campbell. The junior from Middletown, NJ hit a blast that went into the upper left corner of the goal, just inside the post for a 1-0 lead at 24:03.
Campbell hit the post on two more occasions as UNCG outshot the Wildcats, 18-8. Robbie Goldsberry kept Davidson in the game, recording five saves in goal. UNCG’s Chad Janda recorded his third straight shutout with four saves as the Spartans won their fourth straight match.
With the win, UNCG won 10 matches for the 28th consecutive year. The Spartans have won 10 or more matches every year since 1980. Earlier in the week, UNCG clinched its 29th straight winning season and the 32nd straight winning season for head coach Michael Parker, who picked up career win No. 477 on Saturday. He is one of three active coaches with 25 years of service or more to have never suffered a losing season.
AGATE
DAVIDSON..0..0..- 0
UNCG..1..0..- 1
SCORING: UNCG ? Campbell (Elisabetarson) 24:03. Shots: UNCG 18, Davidson 8.
Saves: UNCG 4 (Janda 4), Davidson 5 (Goldsberry 5). Corner kicks: UNCG 4, Davidson 4. Fouls: UNCG 12, Davidson 19.