College of Charleston 2, Wofford 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's soccer knocked off league-leading Wofford in a Southern Conference battle on Friday evening. The Cougars handed the Terriers their first conference loss of the season.
Senior midfielder Steven Nagy netted both goals for Charleston (10-8-0, 4-2 SoCon). His first score came at the 39:09 mark, striking from the left side and sending it 20 yards to the top right corner of the net. Freshman Francis Twohig earned an assist on the play.
Leading 1-0 in the second half, Nagy showed his versatility by directing the shot to the left corner, drilling it from 15 yards out. His fourth goal of the season, scored six minutes into the second half, gave the Cougars a comfortable two-score lead on the Terriers (8-2-3, 4-1-1 SoCon).
Unwilling to be shutout, Wofford's Branson Hyatt scored from 35 yards out in the 66th minute to pull within one goal of CofC. The Terriers were unable to even the score before time ran out.
Sophomore Clark Hankins made three saves while standing guard in goal for 90 minutes. The victory marked Hankins' 10th of the season. On the opposite side of the field, Terrier Thomas Hunter gave up two scores while stopping two shots.
College of Charleston remains in a tie for second place in the conference standings and is just one point behind Wofford in the race for home field advantage.
Elon 2, Radford 0
RADFORD, Va. - The Elon men's soccer team netted two second-half goals en route to a 2-0 victory over the host Radford Highlanders in Friday night non-conference action at Cupp Stadium. The Phoenix recorded its eighth shutout performance of the year, improving to 8-6-2 overall. Radford fell to 4-7-2 on the season.
"It was nice to get a win in our last regular-season game on the road against a well-organized Radford team," Elon head coach Darren Powell said. "It took us awhile to break them down and when we finally did, we got two late goals. Now we have to prepare for a visit from one of the best teams in the country in North Carolina on Tuesday."
After a scoreless first half, Elon broke the tie in the 70th minute of action. The Phoenix had failed to connect on a few opportunities early in the period. Freshman Chris Thomas rocketed a shot on goal, forcing Highlander keeper Ryan Taylor to make the stop. Taylor was unable to cover the ball and senior Justin Wyatt was there to finish for the Phoenix. Wyatt put Elon up 1-0 on his fourth goal of the season at 69:37.
The score ignited the Phoenix and in the 80th minute, Taylor dove to get a hand on an attempt by Elon's Stephen Miller. This time, Brad Franks was there to knock in the goal off the rebound from about 12 yards out. Franks was credited with his third marker of the season, increasing the Phoenix advantage to 2-0.
Elon's back line had another strong performance, keeping the Radford attack at bay. The Highlanders saw their best opportunity to get on the board late in the opening half. Radford's Rad Zimmer lined up to take a penalty kick after a Phoenix foul in the box. Elon goalkeeper Clint Irwin made an impressive save off Zimmer's shot to the left to help keep the shutout intact.
The Phoenix held a decisive advantage in the shot tally at 17-9, including an 11-3 edge on goal. Irwin finished with three saves while Taylor turned in nine stops.
Elon will face its final non-conference opponent of the year when it hosts No. 3 North Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Rhodes Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.