Davidson 2, Marshall 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? The Davidson Men’s Soccer team, fueled by an early lead, picked up their first win of the young season with a 2-0 shutout victory over Marshall Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
For the second straight match, Davidson jumped on the board first, courtesy of a Robert O’Donnell header from just inside the six-yard box into the top half of the net. O’Donnell was set up by a cross from senior Cameron Griffin, who picked up the assist for his season’s first points.
The first half of play was dominated by Davidson’s ability to be both organized and energized on the attack, and come out with an aggressiveness that set the tone for the match and kept the Wildcats in control, which was reflected by the number of chances they had. Head coach Matt Spear said that it was in part both to the team’s play and the strategy they used coming into the match.
“We tried to build off Friday’s loss, and give the guys a clear set of priorities and not to over complicate things,” he said. “We wanted to have more variety in our attack, including more wide passes and crosses. That was fruitful because both our goals came on those types of situations.”
O’Donnell’s goal was the only score on the board until the 61:24 mark in the second half, when junior Machel Turner took a long through ball from classmate Clinton Smith, and broke away from the Marshall defense, beating the goalkeeper at the top of the penalty area, and tapped in an open-net goal to push the lead to 2-0. It was Turner’s sixth goal in his career, with Smith recording his first career point on the assist.
Junior goalkeeper Robby Goldsberry turned away six shots to register his second career shut out, giving the Wildcats their first shutout victory since they blanked Wofford on October 6, 2006. Helping keep the Thundering Herd off the board was a defense that stymied any offensive attempt that came their way, turning back all advances throughout the entire 90 minutes.
As a team, Davidson out shot Marshall by a 19-13 margin, including an 11-5 advantage in the second half, a feat that Spear attributed to the team’s offseason work paying off in a regular-season matchup.
“Every game is a unique opportunity to prove ourselves and show how hard we’ve worked,” he said. ”I think today what was really exciting was our fitness and depth really showed themselves, and that helped pace our play in the match.”
With the win, the ?Cats improve to 1-1 on the season, and finish with at least one victory in the adidas Classic for the fifth time in the tournament’s six-year existence. In the second match of the day, Charlotte clinched the tournament title with a hard-fought 5-3 win over the College of Charleston.
Davidson will now turn its sights to a big road trip up to the nation’s capital when they travel to face off against Georgetown and Maryland, September 5 and 7. Kickoff for the match against Georgetown on Sept. 5 is set for 3 p.m.
East Tennessee State 2, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A goal in each half was all visiting ETSU needed as it knocked off Wofford, 2-0, in men's soccer action Sunday afternoon at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C. The contest marked the home debut for the Terriers and head coach Ralph Polson.
ETSU (1-1) received its first goal at the 6:08 mark when Andrew Brown sent a cross to Sean Hoek, who then fired a rocket from 25 yards out past a leaping Wofford goalkeeper Joey Taylor.
Play would continue to be controlled in the midfield by both squads until the 30th minute when the Buccaneers rattled off three shots within 30 seconds towards the Terrier net. The first two attempts were blocked by the Wofford (1-1) defense with Taylor stopping the final effort.
The Terriers' Alexander Drummond had a good look at the cage for a shot at 37:06, but his attempt was thwarted by the Buc defense. Freshman Ethan Miller also had a chance with about two-and-a-half minutes to play in the frame.
In the 60th minute, Wilson Hood attempted a pair of shots with the first being blocked and second sailing just high over the crossbar. Paulo Bonfim also had an opportunity at 73:32, but ETSU goalkeeper James Holt registered a save.
Wofford continued to push forward in an attempt to knot the score; however, the Bucs' Aliyu Sugri slipped past the Terrier defense down the right flank and beat an on-coming Taylor for the second goal at 82:59.
Holt gathered five saves in the shutout despite the Terriers owning a 14-8 shot advantage. Hood paced Wofford with five shots, two on goal, while Sugri led ETSU with three attempts.
The Terriers will return to action Friday when they travel to Harrisonburg, Va., to participate in the JMU/Comfort Inn Invitational hosted by James Madison. Wofford will conclude play in the event by facing the host Dukes at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
UNC Wilmington 3, Furman 2 (2OT)
WILMINGTON, N.C. ? Freshman forward Matt Brown knocked in the game-winning goal in the 104th minute as UNC Wilmington stunned nationally-ranked Furman, 3-2, in men’s college soccer action on Sunday at the UNCW Soccer Stadium.
In overtime, Brown was able to corral a long clearing pass from senior Will Friesinger, split a pair of Paladin defenders and notch the game-winning goal at the 103:20 mark.
Neither team was able to score in the first half, but the Seahawks held a
6-1 advantage in shots. UNCW’s best opportunity to break into the scoring column was in the 36th minute when junior Kirk Hudgins collected a loose ball and beat Furman goalkeeper Josh Zimmer, but freshman Chris Klute was able to clear the ball off the goal line and keep the match scoreless.
The Seahawks got things going in the 65th minute when sophomore Indy Smith headed home his first goal of the season. Smith scored off a rebound by junior Jon Kearns, whose own shot hit the cross bar and rebounded to Smith.
UNCW was reduced to 10 men on the field in the 74th minute when sophomore Daniel Roberts was sent off and the Paladins were able to take advantage of the short-handed Seahawks.
Furman freshman Fabien Vorbe scored the first of his two goals on the afternoon when he headed in a cross from freshman Eric Cobleigh in the 80th minute. The free kick was set up on the leftside by a Seahawk foul.
Vorbe struck again in the 89th minute with what looked to be the game winner. The Port-au-Prince, Haiti native was on the receiving end of a through ball from freshman Warren Creavalle into the penalty area where he calmly slipped his shot past a diving Brock Duckworth.
With time winding down in regulation, UNCW’s Christian Davidson’s throw in from the left side sailed into the penalty area where Smith headed the ball over to junior Devan Carroll, who tied the game with just seven seconds left on the clock.
Duckworth finished with two saves while Zimmer posted four of his own.
UNCW finished with a 16-12 advantage on shots.
The Seahawks hit the road on Friday when they take on Syracuse at the prestigious Mayors Cup tournament in Oneonta, N.Y. The Paladins, meanwhile, hosts Bowling Green at the Diadora/Spinx Furman Invitational on Friday.
Charlotte 5, College of Charleston 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Zach Prince, Matt Morris and Jake Helmig all scored goals as the College of Charleston's men's soccer team lost to Charlotte, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon in the finale of the 2008 adidas/Davidson Soccer Classic in Davidson, N.C.
With the loss, the Cougars fall to 1-1-0 on the year, while Charlotte improves to 2-0-0 with the victory.
Charlotte got on the board early and often, as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 20 minutes of the contest. Andres Cuero, Chris Salvaggione and Adam Gross each scored goals for the 49ers in the period.
In the second half, the Cougars finally got on the board when Prince scored in the 52nd minute off a pass from Branko Gavric. In the 62nd minute, a goal by Morris cut the Charlotte lead to 3-2, when he scored off an assist from Casey Gold.
Charlotte, however, came right back with two unanswered goals that put the game out of Charleston's reach, as Cuero and Luke Exley scored for the 49ers.
The Cougars would round out the scoring on the day when Helmig headed in a goal in the 83rd minute. Prince was credited with an assist on the play.
The College of Charleston will return to action on Friday, September 5th when they take on Washington at the Furman University Diadora/Spinx Invitational in Greenville, S.C. The match is set to start at 5 p.m. Charlotte returns to the pitch on September 12th when they play Coastal Carolina at the UNC-Wilmington Classic beginning at 5 p.m.