UNCG 4, Wofford 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Freshman Brian Graham logged a seven-point night, having a hand in all four goals as UNCG turned away Wofford, 4-2, in Southern Conference men's soccer action Tuesday night.
Graham, a native of Bowie, Md., tallied twice 80 seconds apart after Wofford rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie it with just under 12 minutes to play. The Spartans moved to 6-5-3 overall and 2-1-2 in Southern Conference action, while Wofford dropped to 1-9-2 overall, 0-5-0 in league play.
"Any win is a big win in the conference," said UNCG interim coach Justin Maullin. "Great to see Brian have a big night tonight. Real happy for him. Took a while for him to get his first one a few weeks ago. We showed some character. Our guys are tired of these overtime games, I think. It certainly looked like we were headed back into overtime. But we showed some guts to come back and win in the last five minutes tonight."
Graham started the scoring midway through the second half with an unassisted tally. Graham scored at 28:53 when a Wofford clearing attempt came to Graham and he blasted it just under the crossbar from 25 yards out.
Adam Shore made it 2-0 at 32:32, scoring his third goal of the year just after checking into the match. Kris Byrd hit a cross from the left wing into the box. Graham flicked it from the post across to Shore, who tapped it home from the doorstep.
Wofford cut it to 2-1 before half. Throw-in specialist Billy Padula's long throw to the right post found Nick Orton, who blasted it home for his first goal of the year at 37:45.
The Terriers tied it at 78:08 on Logan Threadgill's first goal of the year. Orton's cross from the right side of the box skidded through the goal mouth to Threadgill, who banged it home to tie the score.
But Graham scored his second of the night with 4:22 to play and then completed the hat trick 80 seconds later for an insurance goal. The go-ahead came on a ball into the box by Fannar Arnarsson to Hakan Ilhan. Ilhan found Graham alone on the six-yard line for the goal.
The final score of the night at 86:58 came when a Wofford defender tried to clear a loose ball from in front of the goal. Graham intercepted the clearing attempt and shot it into the goal from 10 yards out, giving him a team-leading five goals on the year.
The Spartans had a 12-11 advantage in shots and 7-1 in corner kicks.
UNCG steps out of conference on Friday to face Gardner-Webb for a 7 p.m. match.
Wofford will host Georgia Southern Saturday at 6 p.m.
Appalachian State 2, Davidson 0
BOONE, N.C.- Sophomore Nate Latigue (Cary, N.C./Panther Creek) netted one goal in each half of play to seal a 2-0 victory for Appalachian State University men's soccer (6-5-2, 3-1 SoCon) over Davidson (5-5-5, 1-3-2 SoCon) on Tuesday night at ASU Soccer Stadium.
The Mountaineers wasted no timing getting on the scoreboard first, as Latigue tipped the ball into the goal off the cross from junior Sean Dreybus (Newport News, Va./Warwick) a little over nine minutes into the match. The goal was Latigue's first of the season and the assist was Dreybus' third.
Davidson's Yannick Pilgrim took the first shot of the match for the Wildcats, but it was saved by junior Drake Branson (Hendersonville, N.C./East Henderson) after 10 minutes had elapsed in play.
Following a Davidson foul, the Apps raced down the field and sophomore Ethan Durland (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville Road) attempted his lone shot of the night, but it was high. Senior Steven Sassano (Gastonia, N.C./Forestview) followed up Durland's shot, but his sailed high, as well.
After the Mountaineers tallied two back-to-back offsides calls, the 'Cats took the momentum down to their end of the field and Pilgrim attempted his second and final shot of the match, but it was caught by Branson.
At the 30:10 minute mark, Sassano headed the ball off a corner kick by Dreybus, but his shot finished wide.
Both teams completed the first half of play, attempting two shots a piece, but neither was able to find the back of the net as the Black and Gold took a 1-0 lead into the locker rooms.
Looking to build on their first half lead, Sassano fired a shot at 49:44, but it was converted into Davidson goalkeeper Chip Sanders' only save of the contest.
Both teams traded shots after that before Latigue nailed his second goal of the match and season at 64:48, putting the Mountaineers up 2-0.
The Wildcats were not able to recover as that would be the final score of the match.
The Apps outshot the 'Cats, 11-7 and held the advantage on corner kicks 4-2.
Sassano led ASU in shooting with four shots, while Latigue recorded three shots.
Branson notched the win, moving his record to 2-2 while tallying five saves. Sanders took the loss, moving his record to 5-5-5.
The Mountaineers make a quick turnaround, returning to action on Saturday (Oct. 23) at 7 p.m., as they take on Elon at ASU Soccer Stadium.
Davidson next entertains Georgia Southern next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Elon 1, Furman 1 (2 OT)
ELON, N.C. - Chris Thomas' seventh goal of the season brought the game back to even, but Elon was unable to get the go-ahead score as the Phoenix played the visiting Furman Paladins to a 1-1 draw in Southern Conference men's soccer action from Rudd Field on Tuesday night. It was the sixth overtime game of the season for Elon as the Phoenix moved to 6-3-5 overall, 3-1-1 in the league. Furman (6-4-4, 2-0-2) has played to a draw in three of its last four contests and has played nine overtime games this season.
"I thought we battled back well to start the second half with a good goal in a spirited Southern Conference match," stated Elon head men's soccer coach Darren Powell. "Furman got off to a good start and we have to learn to come and play for the whole game. Our task now is to get ready for another conference match on Saturday at Appalachian State."
Furman got on the board first, scoring in the 20th minute of action. Mark Gabriel served a ball along the goal line from the right side of the field. Elon keeper Reed Dillard got a hand on the ball but couldn't control it and Furman's Danny Hojaij was there to chip in the short shot for his first goal of the year.
After an otherwise quiet first half, Elon came out with a little fire in the second period. The Phoenix gained possession of the ball in the midfield and got it out wide to Denzel Ogunyase who brought the ball down the right side of the field. Ogunyase slid the ball forward to a running Thomas who struck in perfectly into the far corner to even the score at the 53:15 mark. Thomas leads the SoCon with seven strikes on the season.
Elon had two late chances in regulation to take the lead. With under 12 minutes to play and Elon possessing the ball near the top of the box, Hunter Miller touched a pass to Gabe Latigue who turned a hooked a shot just wide of the net. As the final minute wound down, Latigue served a nice ball to a streaking Daniel Lovitz but Furman keeper Alec Kann saved the freshman's shot.
In the extra sessions, Furman had the two best chances, both of which came in the first 10-minute overtime period. After a Paladin corner kick, there was a loose ball in the box that got knocked around before safely going out of bounds just wide of the post with about seven minutes to play. Minutes later, a bullet by Dane Roberts sailed just wide right.
The Paladins held the slight 11-10 advantage in the shot column and took seven corner kicks compared to only three by the Phoenix. Kann made two saves and Dillard notched four stops.
Elon has two Southern Conference games remaining, beginning with a trip to Boone, N.C. to face Appalachian State on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.
Furman hosts league-leading College of Charleston Friday night at 7 p.m.
College of Charleston 3, Winthrop 1
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's soccer team defeated Winthrop, 3-1, in non-conference action on Tuesday night at Eagle Field with three second-half goals.
The Cougars move to 10-2-2 on the year while Winthrop drops to 4-8-1.
The Cougars hammered the Eagles with 21 shots, 16 in the second period, and kept the Eagles' attempts to nine in the match to gain the win.
The teams were scoreless in the first period but CofC's offense took over in the second in order to power towards the victory.
The Cougars cracked the scoreless tie in the 52nd minute when Shawn Ferguson (Rock Hill, S.C.) headed one home off of a free kick sent in by Ralphie Lundy.
Winthrop answered, however, less than two minutes later when Miquel Casajuana bent a free kick around the Cougars' defensive wall and into the net to equalize. The senior striker scored in all four games against CofC in his career.
The Cougars weren't discouraged by the equalizing mark and Sean de Silva (Port of Spain, Trinidad) capitalized in the 79th minute when he controlled his own rebound and scored on his second attempt. De Silva's goal was his team-high sixth of the season.
Jake Helmig (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) insured the lead in similar fashion when he too controlled his own rebound and scored into an open net to put CofC up by the eventual final, 3-1.
The Cougars return to Southern Conference action with a contest against Furman on Friday, Oct. 22 in Greenville, S.C. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.
Georgia Southern 1, Clemson 1 (2 OT)
CLEMSON, S.C. - Georgia Southern and Clemson battled through two overtimes, but neither team could score a goal in the extra periods, ending Tuesday night's match at Riggs Field in a 1-1 tie. The Eagles' senior forward Jon Cox (Alpharetta, Ga.) scored his fourth goal of the season to give the Eagles a lead in the 27th minute. Despite outstanding defensive play by Georgia Southern, Clemson's Stephen McGill scored at the 86th minute in regulation to tie the score.
Neither team held possession of the ball for very long in the first half, but Georgia Southern made the most of the opportunities presented. David Leonard (Augusta, Ga.) dribbled up the middle and played Cox to the right side. Cox scored with a shot across the box to the left corner of the net as the Eagles took the 1-0 score late into the second half.
The Tigers scored their goal on a rebound in the 86th minute after attacking on the Eagles' side of the field. Georgia Southern fended off two late scoring threats from Clemson's Austin Savage in regulation. The first was a header at close-range that went wide right. A flurry of activity around the Georgia Southern box ended with Savage taking a second shot not quite a minute later that hit the left post before going wide.
In the first overtime, both teams had a corner kick, but neither could capitalize. Clemson had two shots, with Savage's going wide and Eagle junior goalkeeper Ryan Platt (Preston, England), saving McGill's attempt. Freshman forward Ethan LePan (Martinez, Ga.) took the first corner, and the only corner for Georgia Southern in the second overtime. Clemson had three corners and three shots in the final period. Cox had one shot in the second overtime, which was saved by the Tigers' goalkeeper Cody Mizell.
Platt had six saves on the night for Georgia Southern while Mizell had two for Clemson.
"We were disappointed to give up a goal in the last five minutes, but we were proud of the guys to salvage a draw from that," said Eagles Coach Kevin Kennedy. "Overall, I was pleased with the performance against what we think is a very well-coached and organized Clemson team."
The tie with Georgia Southern put Clemson's total number of ties for 2010 at three with three wins and eight losses in 2010. The Eagles (3-8-2) continue their stretch of road matches as they return to conference play with a 6 p.m. contest at Wofford Saturday, October 23rd.