UNC Greensboro 3, Elon 0
ELON, N.C. ? Thomas Campbell tallied five points and Jokull Elisabetarson three as the UNC Greensboro Spartans raced past the Elon Phoenix 3-0 in Southern Conference men’s soccer action on Senior Night from Rudd Field on Saturday night. With the victory, UNCG saw its mark go to 8-7-2 overall and 4-3-0 in SoCon play. Elon fell to 7-6-4, 4-3-0 and dropped its third consecutive contest. The Phoenix and Spartans finish the regular season tied for third in the league.
Elisabetarson’s sixth goal of the season put the Spartans on top 1-0 at 25:56. Campbell touched a free kick to Elisabetarson who blasted a long-range shot for the score. Campbell pushed the margin to 2-0 at 30:52 when he found the back of the net in a frenzy in front of the goal. Elisabetarson and Matt Strine played the ball into the box and earned assists on the play.
With 1:29 left to play in regulation, Campbell struck again. His 10th marker of the year came unassisted on a free kick from about 20 yards out.
Elon’s Clint Irwin made three saves while working the full 90 minutes. Chad Janda stopped five Phoenix shots at the other end.
“At this point we’re all disappointed,” said Elon head coach Darren Powell. “We’ll quickly put it behind us and focus on our playoff games. We’ll try to put a winning streak together and make a deep run in the tournament.”
Elon outshot UNCG by a 12-10 margin overall, but fell slightly behind in shots on goal ? 6-5. The Phoenix was whistled for 11 fouls while the Spartans committed seven fouls. Elon also held a slim 5-4 edge in corners while UNC was stopped for 10 offsides calls.
Both Elon and UNCG will host first round Southern Conference Tournament games this coming weekend. Third-seeded UNCG will take on sixth-seeded Davidson at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. Elon, the fourth seed, will battle fifth-seeded Appalachian State at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon from Rudd Field.
College of Charleston 2, Davidson 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Wes Knight put away a second-half penalty kick to lead College of Charleston to a 2-1 victory over Davidson in Southern Conference men’s soccer action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. The triumph was the seventh straight for the Cougars as they improve to 12-4-1 overall and 6-1-0 in the league, while Davidson falls to 4-12-1 and 2-4-1.
Knight’s eventual game winner came with just over 19 minutes remaining as a result of a Wildcat foul inside the 18-yard box.
After both teams had a pair of great scoring chances midway through the opening half, Davidson’s Robby Hoak put the first mark on the board with a 31st minute header off a short corner set up from both Alex Caskey and Charlie Reiter.
Following Hoak’s team-leading fifth goal of the season and 19th career strike, College of Charleston evened the match on Kareem Yearwood’s blast from about 12 yards out. The Cougars’ 42nd minute equalizer came off a pair of one-touch balls from David Munson and Zach Prince.
College of Charleston outshot the Wildcats 12-1 in the final period to finish with a 17-5 margin in attempts.
Despite the loss, Matt McElroy was impressive in goal for the Wildcats making a number of crucial saves to keep the match close. The freshman from Potomac, Md., finished with a game-high four saves.
Davidson’s lone shot in the second half was a great opportunity to tie the match, but Reiter’s free kick from just outside the box missed wide of frame with under four minutes left.
The Wildcats will conclude its 2007 regular season against top-ranked Wake Forest Tuesday, Nov. 6 in Winston-Salem, N.C. College of Charleston returns to action in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament.
Wofford 4, Lipscomb 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Freshman Armin Kinigadner netted one-half of Wofford's goals and tacked on an assist in leading the Terriers to a 4-1 non-conference men's soccer victory over Lipscomb Friday evening at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C. The match was the first for both teams as part of the weekend's South Carolina/Tennessee Challenge.
Kinigadner struck twice within a four-minute span during the first half to give Wofford (5-11-1) a two-goal edge at halftime. Classmate Kentrel Owens was standing near the end line on the left side of the Bisons goal when he fed junior Callum Easter 12-yards out. Easter then one-touched the pass over to Kinigadner and the Simpsonville, S.C., native buried the ball past Lipscomb (5-10-3) goalkeeper Jake Goergen at 26:09 for the game's first score.
Just a short time later, at 29:44, senior Kyle Walker took a shot that was saved by a diving Goergen, but the deflection fell right at Kinigadner's feet and he placed it in the back of the net for his team-high tying fourth of the campaign.
The Bisons then cut the margin to one as Kevin Terry fed Ben Page, who then sliced the ball off the left post behind Wofford goalie Joey Taylor at 47:17.
The Terriers would then counter at 58:20 as another deflection off Goergen's hands proved to enable them another mark on the scoreboard. Easter ripped a shot, which trickled to senior Kyle Walker standing near the left post. Walker corralled the ricochet and added to Wofford's total.
Freshman Kentrel Owens would then match Kinigadner for the team lead in season goals with four but not before being set up by his classmate. Kinigadner dished the ball to Owens for a low shot off the left post for the final tally of the contest at 86:37.
The Terriers outshot the Bisons, 15-10, in a very physical game featuring a total of four cards. Kinigadner led all players with six shots, while Page paced Lipscomb with five attempts.
The four goals Wofford scored are the most in the Matt Kern era (since 2002) and match the effort the 2001 Terriers registered in a pair of games. The last four-goal game came in a 5-4 loss at Davidson November 7, 2001. Wofford also posted four goals in a double-overtime 4-3 victory over The Citadel October 24, 2001.
This weekend marks play for the Terriers, Lipscomb, Belmont and Furman in the South Carolina/Tennessee Challenge. In the other Friday matchup, Belmont upset No. 16 Furman, 2-1, in overtime in Greenville, S.C.
Wofford will next welcome Belmont to Snyder Field for a 2 p.m. Sunday match. The Bisons travel to Furman Sunday for the other contest in the tournament.
Belmont 2, #16 Furman 1
Greenville, S.C. -- Belmont’s Ryan Hooks netted his first goal of the season just 22 seconds into the first overtime period to lift the Bruins over 16th-ranked Furman 2-1 in men’s soccer action Friday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The loss, Furman’s first home defeat of the year, drops the Paladins to 14-3-0. Belmont improves to 7-8-2.
Just 22 second into overtime Furman’s Michael Erwood deflected a ball into Hooks’ path while trying to clear a ball out of the box. The Bruin reserve collected and lined a shot inside the far post past Furman keeper Bryan Amos to stun the Furman crowd and give Belmont the victory.
Shea Salinas put the Paladins out in front in the 14th minute. Eric Baffour led Salinas with a through pass and the senior hammered a shot past the Belmont keeper from the right side of the box.
Furman failed to finish several opportunities to increase the lead and Belmont equalized in the 73rd minute. Cyrus Eaton took a pass from Ian Schinelli and ripped a high shot that glanced off of the post before dropping into goal at 72:11.
Furman held an 11-7 edge in shots and 6-1 advantage in corner kick attempts. Amos collected one save in a losing effort while keeper Ron Gravely managed four saves for Belmont. Each team had one team save denying the other team a goal during the second half.
Furman hosts Lipscomb at 2 p.m. Sunday in the South Carolina/Tennessee Challenge and regular season finale at Stone Soccer Stadium. The Bisons fell 4-1 at Wofford on Friday in Spartanburg, S.C.