Appalachian State 1, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Wofford fell just short of grabbing its first conference win Tuesday night, getting edged out by conference opposition, Appalachian State 1-0. The Mountaineers scored a goal 15 minutes into the second half, and held the one goal advantage for the rest of the match.
Coach Polson's squad drops to a 1-6-2 record on the season and a 0-3 standing in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State grabs their second win in the Southern Conference, posting a 2-0 record. The Mountaineers have a 5-4-2 record on the regular season.
At the start of regulation, Wofford goalkeeper, Andrew Drennan, was forced to pull out a couple of spectacular saves early in the first half. Near the fourth minute, Drennan stretched his body full-length to stop a shot by ASU's Ethan Durland. In the 13th minute Drennan pushed his body parallel to the ground, gobbling up a similar shot by ASU's Sean Dreybus. Drennan's effort kept the Mountaineers off the board the entire first half.
Wofford had some of the best chances to go on the scoreboard 25 minutes into the first half, with a string of attacks dropping just short of going into the back of the net. Wilson Hood had a shot blocked near the left side of the 18 yard box that deflected off an ASU defender for a Wofford corner. Armin Kinigadner took the corner and placed the ball toward the far post. Andrew Eppelsheimer leapt over opposing defenders to direct the ball off his head toward the Mountaineer net, only to have it sail just high of the cross bar.
When the halftime whistle blew, the score drew even between the two programs, 0-0.
Appalachian took the lead in the first 15 minutes of the second half with a goal by Sean Dreybus. Appalachian State had a low ball crossed near the 6 yard box. Drennan stepped out of the net to grab the ball before it could find the foot of the competition. With players in the face of Drennan, the ball deflected off the goalkeeper and out toward the top of the 18'. Dreybus took the ball on the foot and lined up a shot toward a wide open Wofford net, scoring his fourth goal of the season, and putting ASU up 1-0.
Wofford had two close attempts near the end of the match that could have been the equalizer that fell just short.
Kentrel Owens streamed a shot toward the left side netting, forcing ASU keeper Drake Branson to scramble and make a full-length dive to save the ball.
Ryan Hurst nearly tapped a ball in with only four seconds remaining. Hurst slipped past the defenders and tried to catch up to a through ball that was pushed a few too many yards in front of him, forcing the freshman go on a foot race to the ball with the keeper. Hurst slid to try and sneak the ball past Branson, but Branson slid at the same time and the ball bounced off the keeper's chest and out of harm's way before the clock ran out.
The Terriers continue conference play on the road against Elon this Saturday, October 16th. Wofford will face off against the Phoenix at 7:00pm.
Appalachian State looks to improve to 3-0 in the SoCon with a match at Furman, Saturday at 7 p.m.
Furman 0, Davidson 0 (2 OT)
Greenville, S.C. -- Junior Alec Kann recorded his second straight shutout and third of the season as Furman and Davidson played to a scoreless draw in Southern Conference men's soccer action on Tuesday evening at Eugene Stone III Soccer Stadium.
The deadlock pushed Furman to 5-4-3 overall and 1-0-1 in the SoCon while Davidson moved to 5-4-4 overall and 1-2-1 in the league.
Neither squad was able to create many scoring opportunities over the games' 110 minutes. Furman held a 9-8 edge in shot attempts, but the Paladins managed just one shot on goal while Davidson forced Kann into four saves.
The best scoring chance of the night fell to Furman's Danny Hojaij in the 63rd minute. The sophomore ran onto a loose ball in the box and ripped a shot that was blocked off of the line by a Davidson defender and cleared after a scramble inside the six-yard box.
Hojaij created another chance late in regulation sending a free kick from the right side towards the far post, but Eric Cobleigh was unable to direct the ball into net with a sliding try at the left post.
Furman has been held scoreless in each of its last three matches and has not tallied a goal in 310 minutes. The draw marked the third straight match in which Furman has been blanked at home.
The Paladins return to Stone Stadium on Saturday when they host Appalachian State in a SoCon showdown. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Davidson hosts UNCG Saturday evening at 7 p.m.
Elon 1, Clemson 0
CLEMSON, S.C. - Making his first career start, Elon redshirt freshman goalie Reed Dillard posted seven saves to lead the Phoenix to a 1-0 shutout of the Clemson Tigers in non-conference men's soccer action from Historic Riggs Field on Tuesday night. Elon (5-3-4) shut out the Tigers (3-6-2) for the second straight year and recorded its fourth clean slate of the season. The Phoenix is now 1-0-1 against Atlantic Coast Conference competition this year after earning a 1-1 draw against then-ninth ranked Duke on Sept. 28.
"It is good to get a victory over a good ACC program at Clemson," noted Elon head coach Darren Powell. "The guys did well on a mid-week road trip and were good enough to win the match tonight. Now, our focus returns to Southern Conference play and our game against last year's champion Wofford on Saturday night."
Sophomore Chris Thomas registered the lone goal of the night in the 22nd minute of action. Denzel Ogunyase picked up the ball in the middle of the field and continued down the right side before finding Thomas who one-touched it into the net over rushing Tiger goalie Cody Mizell. The score was the forward's team-leading sixth goal of the season.
The Phoenix had another late opportunity off a corner kick when Hunter Miller sent a near-perfect header at the net, but it was blocked away by the Tiger defense.
Dillard had seen only four minutes of collegiate action prior to tonight's contest. The Dallas, Texas native posted five of his seven saves, including one off a diving header and another off a rocket from outside the box, in the second half to stave off the Tiger attack.
Clemson held a 12-8 advantage in shots and attempted eight corner kicks compared to only two by the Phoenix.
Elon will get back into SoCon action on Saturday night when the reigning league champion Wofford Terriers come to town. The Phoenix will be looking to avenge a loss in the 2009 SoCon Tournament title game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rudd Field.
Presbyterian 1, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - An early Presbyterian College goal wound up being the only scoring on the night as the Blue Hose held on for a 1-0 win over the Georgia Southern Men's Soccer team. The Eagles recorded 12 shots on goal but PC goal keeper James Neal made acrobatic saves to preserve the win at Edens Field at Martin Stadium.
Donald Gibson sent a long pass to Stephen Glover who headed the ball into the net at the 1:52 mark of the first half to give PC a 1-0 lead. The Eagles allowed only three other shots in the half and held the Blue Hose scoreless in the second period. Four Georgia Southern players had at least three shots on goal and two others had two each, but Neal had 12 saves on the night to turn away the Eagles' scoring attempts.
"We had some opportunities and on a good day we should have scored four or five goals," said Eagles Head Coach Kevin Kennedy. "We created several chances, but our finishing was poor. We have to give credit to their goalkeeper, he made some outstanding saves and they defended very well."
Georgia Southern (3-7-1, 0-3-0) continues with its next four matches on the road, beginning with College of Charleston Saturday, October 16th. The contest at Patriots Point Stadium is set to begin at 7 p.m.