Elon 1, College of Charleston 0
MT. PLEASANT, N.C. - A first-half strike by Elon senior Justin Wyatt proved the game-winner as the Phoenix men's soccer team knocked off host College of Charleston, 1-0, in Southern Conference soccer action from Patriot's Point Field on Tuesday evening. The win was only Elon's second ever all-time against College of Charleston and its first-ever victory on CofC's turf. Elon improved to 5-4-1 overall and remained perfect in league action at 2-0. The Cougars dropped to 6-6 and 0-2 in the SoCon.
Elon controlled much of the play in the opening period, putting the pressure on Cougar goalkeeper Michael Flato. Midway through the half, Charleston managed to keep the Phoenix off the board when defender Sean Flatley cleared an Elon shot off the goal line.
With less than 10 minutes to go in the first period, Phoenix defender Stephen Miller drilled a shot from the edge of the 18, sending it just wide of the far post. Finally in the 41st minute of action, Wyatt found the back of the net for the third time this season. The forward chipped the shot over Flato's head as the Phoenix took a 1-0 advantage at 40:21.
After 45 minutes, Elon had outshot CofC 6-2 and taken three corner kicks compared to two by the home team.
The Phoenix had several chances to cushion the lead, especially late in the second half. With seven minutes remaining in the game, Wyatt forced the keeper to make a punch save over the goal. In the final two minutes of action, senior Daniel Street rocketed a shot from the left side that ricocheted off the far post.
The Elon defense closed out the game for its sixth shutout of the season. The Phoenix has not allowed a goal in any of its wins this year. Goalie Clint Irwin notched his 15th career shutout, moving into a tie for second place in the Elon record books. The junior posted two saves in the victory.
The shot tally ended in the Phoenix's favor at 13-7 and Elon ended the game with 12 corner kicks after taking nine in the second half. The Cougars managed only two corner kick opportunities in the final period.
Davidson 4, No. 6 Duke 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Two goals in the first eight minutes proved to be the difference as the Davidson men's soccer team defeated a nationally-ranked opponent for the second time this season, downing No. 6 Duke, 4-1 on Tuesday night in front of 1,487 fans in Alumni Stadium.
Junior forward Yannick Pilgrim led the scoring effort with two goals, including the game-winner. Freshman Brian McGue and Southern Conference scoring leader Charlie Reiter also registered a goal each.
Sophomore goalkeeper Chip Sanders made two saves as the Davidson defense fended off 19 shots from Duke's attack.
Davidson (9-1-0) has now beaten two nationally-ranked teams in the same season for the first time since 2004. On Sept. 25 this season, the Wildcats beat then-No. 25 South Carolina by the same 4-1 score at home. The win extends Davidson's winning streak to seven games and keeps them on track to match the 10-1 start to the 1990 season.
Duke's three-match winning streak in the series was halted. Davidson had last beat Duke in 2003 by a score of 2-0 at home.
Duke (7-3-0) entered the match coming off wins over the defending Southern Conference regular season champions, Elon, and the defending nation champions, then-No. 2 Maryland. Soccer America ranked the Blue Devils sixth in the country in a poll released on Monday, while the National Soccer Coaches Association of America ranked them eighth in a poll released on Tuesday. Davidson received votes in the NSCAA poll to effectively rank them 28th.
Davidson got on the scoreboard just three minutes into the match off a corner kick from senior forward Reiter. Reiter placed the ball along the goal line where McGue was able find it through traffic and head it in for his first career goal.
The 'Cats struck again five minutes later. Sophomore defender Brian Bostwick sent a lead pass up the right flank that appeared to be intended for McGue. The ball slipped past McGue near the top of the 18-yard box, but Pilgrim streaked in and beat a Duke defender to the ball. Pilgrim dribbled in to the six-yard box near the right post and beat freshman goalkeeper James Belshaw to the far-post.
Duke responded though as Matthew Thomas headed the ball in off a corner kick from Cole Grossman to cut the Wildcats' lead in half at 24:37.
Davidson secured the win though in the second half after adding a pair of goals.
In the 12th minute of the half, junior Josh Zipin took a shot from the center of the field, 15-yards out, which was saved by Belshaw. Belshaw was not able to control the rebound off his diving save, and Reiter found the ball to the left of the net for the score.
The save was Belshaw's only one in the match. Davidson got off 11 shots total.
Pilgrim put the match out of reach at 76:09, stealing the ball from a Duke defender and dribbling in to the left of the six-yard box. Pilgrim then bounced a shot off the inside of the far-post for the goal, which was his seventh of the season.
The Wildcats will resume their conference schedule with a trip to Elon on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. match. Davidson will host conference foes Appalachian State (Oct. 14) and Furman (Oct. 17) next week. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. in Alumni Stadium.
No. 18 NC State 2, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Wofford men's soccer fell 2-0 to number 18 North Carolina State Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. After neither team mounted any offense in the first 45 minutes, the Wolfpack (7-2-1) jumped on the board in the 64th minute and added a second goal in the 90th minute to send the Terriers (5-1-3) home with their first defeat on the year.
The Wolfpack would open the scoring in the 64th minute of action. Sophomore Farouk would collect the ball in the middle of the field, and feed a pass down the right wing to junior Lucas Carpenter. After a couple of touches, Carpenter would send a cross into the Terriers box and senior Alan Sanchez got his head to the ball and scored the eventual game winner at the 63:15 mark.
NC State would add an insurance goal with just 52 seconds left. An errant clearance by Wofford keeper Jared Ziegler was collected by junior Chris Zuerner, who turned the chance into a breakaway and netted his second score of the season in the final minute of action.
Both squads struggled in the first half of play, as neither team recorded a shot on goal. Wofford did register five shots to the Pack's two, and NC State held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks in the first 45 minutes.
Wofford would outshoot the Pack on the day 9-8, but only put three shots onto goal. The Pack's Christopher Widman collected his fourth shutout of the year with three saves.
Wofford moves to 5-1-3 overall and 1-0-1 in Southern Conference play while NC State moves to 7-2-1 overall.
The Terriers will return to action October 14 at 7 pm against High Point in High Point, North Carolina.
No. 6 Wake Forest 3, UNC Greensboro 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Coren Bone and Zack Schilawski each had a goal and an assist as sixth-ranked Wake Forest snapped UNC Greensboro's four-game unbeaten streak, 3-0, in men's soccer action at UNCG Soccer Stadium Tuesday night.
Bone assisted on the first goal of the match at the 7:12 mark. Bone played a ball thru the Spartan defensive line and Zack Schilawski caught up to it and popped it into the upper righthand corner for his fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
Schilawski had a hand in making it 2-0 late in the first half. He found Nick Courtney, who had a one-touch pass to Austin daLuz. daLuz went to the same top corner from 13 yards out for his second goal of the season.
Bone closed the scoring at 81:39 when he stole an errant pass by the Spartan defense, dribbled just inside of the 18 and hit a blast into the lower left side of the goal.
UNCG had several one-on-one chances with Wake Forest goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald, but couldn't get the one that might have turned the momentum. Fitzgerald finished with four saves before being lifted with 1:11 to play. UNCG redshirt freshman goalkeeper Peyton Ford finished with four saves.
Wake Forest, which dropped to No. 6 in the NSCAA poll earlier in the day, is now 7-2-1 on the season. UNCG is 3-5-3 after having its four-game (2-0-2) unbeaten streak halted.
UNCG returns to action on Saturday night when it hosts College of Charleston in a big Saturday night match. Game time is set for 7 p.m.