Wofford 3, Presbyterian 2
CLINTON, S.C. -- Junior Nick Schuermann scored with just over 16 minutes remaining in regulation as Wofford kicked off the Ralph Polson era with a 3-2 victory at Presbyterian in men's soccer action Friday evening in Clinton, S.C.
After the Terriers built a 2-0 lead at the break, the host Blue Hose tallied two goals within a minute of the second half to knot the score before Schuermann's game winner five minutes later.
Schuermann's first career goal and points came on a deflection in the six-yard box at the 73:49 mark. Freshman Ethan Miller was credited with an assist on the play for his first collegiate point.
Junior Yakov Rubinchik put Wofford (1-0) in front 1-0 at 10:07. A deflected pass from classmate Branson Hyatt landed at Rubinchik's feet, where he then put the ball in the back of the net behind Presbyterian (0-1) goalie James Neal.
Nearly three-and-a-half minutes later, at 13:29, Moe Kelli sent a corner kick near the Blue Hose cage. Sophomore Wilson Hood found the loose ball and placed it into the upper left corner for his second career score.
The Terriers maintained their advantage until the 68:53 mark when Michael Czulinski knocked home a loose ball on an assist from Nick Whicker. PC drew even at 69:41 on a one-timer from Jay Stewart off a Yinka Salaam pass.
The contest marked the first game as Wofford's head coach for Ralph Polson. He also returned to Clinton, S.C., where he served as the Blue Hose's mentor for 17 seasons from 1983-99. Polson becomes the first Terrier head coach to win his debut since John Blair (1986-2001) led Wofford to a 3-2 triumph at Central Wesleyan Sept. 6, 1986.
The Terriers will return to action at 2 p.m. Sunday when they make their Snyder Field season debut against ETSU.
Appalachian State 3, East Tennessee State 1
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Freshman Sean Dreybus scored two goals and freshman goalkeeper made nine saves to help lead Appalachian State to a 3-1 win Friday evening at East Tennessee St.
The Mountaineers got the scoring started early when Steven Sassano played a long ball to Arie Muniz. Muniz's shot was saved by ETSU's keeper James Holt but deflected right to Dreybus as he shot the ball past Holt in the upper right corner for the 1-0 lead in just the third minute of the game for his first career goal. Muniz picked up the assist on the play. "This was a great experience for Sean," Pendleton said. "It was nice to see the younger players produce."
Twelve minutes later Dreybus took a shot from the left side that was stopped by Holt but the rebound came to Muniz and he put it in the back of the net to give Appalachian the 2-0 lead.
The Buccaneers got on the board in the 23rd minute when Kyle Franklin took a shot from 18 yards out that got deflected over the head over the goalkeeper to make the score 2-1.
In the 34th minute ETSU's Andrew Brown came in on a breakaway on the right side but his shot was knocked away by Taylor.
"That was the turning point of the game, if they tie the game there things could have been different," Pendleton said. "The back five were outstanding the whole game."
Late in the second half Taylor made a save on a Franklin shot from 18 yards out and another save off a header from Sean Hoek.
Appalachian put the game away in the 63rd minute when Dreybus took a pass from Sassano on the right side and headed the ball over the goalkeepers head.
"It's nice to get the first one out of the way, especially to get one on the road," head coach Shaun Pendleton said. "I'm extremely happy with the effort, overall it was a great win and something to build on.
The win gives Pendleton his first win as Appalachian's head coach and the Mountaineers are 1-0 on the season. Appalachian travels to UNC Asheville on Saturday Sept . 6.
College of Charleston 2, Marshall 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. --- The College of Charleston’s men’s soccer team won their regular season opener on Friday night against Marshall 2-0. The game was part of the 2008 adidas/Davidson Soccer Classic in Davidson, N.C.
With the win, the College of Charleston moves to 1-0-0 on the year, while Marshall drops to 0-1-1
In the first half, both teams were scoreless through most of the period. But, in the 41st minute, Jedd Cordisco took a pass from Will Moore and scored the first goal of the season for the Cougars.
In the second half, Kareem Yearwood put the game out of Marshall’s reach with a goal in the 75th minute off an assist from Zach Prince.
In the match, Charleston out shot Marshall 10-5, while goalie Brendan Smith earned a shutout victory.
The Cougars return to action on Sunday when they finish off the adidas/Davidson Classic with a match against Charlotte set to start at 3 p.m. Marshall will face off with host Davidson in the first game of the day at 1 p.m.
Charlotte 5, Davidson 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Despite jumping out to an early 1-0 lead, the Davidson men's soccer team was unable to hold on and fell to the Charlotte 49ers, 5-1, in the season's first game Friday night at Alumni Stadium.
The 'Cats struck first in the match, when sophomore Josh Zipin collected a rebound in front of the net and passed a through ball into the six-yard box, where it was picked up by senior Whitey Bolan, who flipped a shot over the goalkeeper's head from just outside the six-yard box for the score. The assist for Zipin was his first career point, and Bolan's goal was the second of his Wildcat career.
Davidson was able to control much of the tempo throughout the first 25 minutes of the match, with their play highlighted by the goal. Head Coach Matt Spear was impressed with his team's start.
"We had a really positive start tonight," he said. "We showed a lot of good things and were able to see some of our newly implemented strategies work, all of which was highlighted by a great goal by Whitey."
Charlotte struck back right before halftime, notching a pair of goals in a four-minute span between the 35 and 39 minute marks, to pull ahead 2-1 at the break, a lead they would keep for the rest of the match.
"They really fed off their scoring tonight," said Spear. "Right after their second goal, you could see their confidence increasing."
The 49ers put up three more goals in the second half, the last coming with less than one minute remaining, when Matt Weston's shot from outside the penalty box just caught the inside of the net, out of the reach of Davidson goalkeeper Robby Goldsberry, who recorded five saves on the night.
In the first match of the Davidson adidias Classic, the College of Charleston scored a goal in each half to defeat Marshall, 2-0.
The Wildcats will look to pick up their first win of the season when they face off against Marshall on Sunday afternoon to start the second day of the adidas Classic. Kick off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.
High Point 2, Elon 1
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- After falling behind early, the High Point Panthers rallied to net the next two goals of the game and earn a 2-1 non-conference men's soccer victory in the season opener for both squads.
"We were extremely disappointed with this result," said Elon head coach Darren Powell. "Congratulations to High Point for a very well-fought match. We have to learn from this experience and get back on track very quickly."
HPU almost got on the board thirty seconds into the game, but Elon goalkeeper Kyle Boerner made a great save on Karo Okiomah. Boerner started a counter-attack which caught the Panther defense off-guard. Elon capitalized on the counter as Daniel Street beat the defender outside the 18 yard-box then played the ball across to Erfan Imeni who knocked it home to give Elon the early lead just 1:21 into the game.
The home team got on the board at 28:02 as Matt Tuttle hit a corner kick which found senior Chris Shrum who headed home the game-tying goal. High Point took the lead on Okiomah’s goal 1:01 after the Shrum equalizer.
Picking up the victory in net was freshman Michael Chesler. Making his first collegiate start, the net-minder came up big for the Panthers making four saves. Boerner made five saves while minding the net for Elon.
The Phoenix held a 14-13 shot advantage while the Panthers held a 7-5 edge in corner kicks.
Elon returns to the pitch at 5 p.m. on Sept. 5 against Old Dominion. That game is part of the UNCG Classic and will be played at UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
Tulsa 2, Georgia Southern 0
TULSA, Okla. - Blaine Gosalves and Zach Nulisch each knocked in a goal for Tulsa in a 2-0 victory over Georgia Southern on Friday night at the Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium. The Golden Hurricane moved to 1-0 on the season, while the Eagles fell to 0-1.
Gonzalves tallied the opening goal at the 37:32 mark as he connected on a shot from 30 yards out on the right side, giving TU a 1-0 advantage heading into the break. In the second half, Nulish converted on a cross from Corey Albertson from 18 yards out in the 88th minute.
Joey Ralph totaled all 90 minutes in goal and made six saves for the Eagles. Tulsa had a 17-6 advantage in shots, as well as an 8-2 lead in shots on goal.
The Eagles return to action next Friday (Sept. 5) when they travel to face the Clemson Tigers. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m.