Appalachian State 1, Georgia Southern 0
BOONE, N.C.- Senior Steven Sassano (Gastonia, N.C./Forestview) found the back of the net at the 64:46 minute mark to give Appalachian State University men's soccer (4-3-2, 1-0 SoCon) its first Southern Conference victory of the season over Georgia Southern (3-4-1, 0-1 SoCon) on Saturday afternoon at the ASU Soccer Stadium.
The defense for both teams kept the match scoreless in the first 45 minutes of play. Junior Sean Dreybus (Newport News, Va./Warwick) attempted to give the Mountaineers an early advantage 10 minutes into play, but the kick was saved by Georgia Southern goalkeeper Neal Bates. The Eagles came back to their end of the field and freshman Hunter Norton took a shot, but it hit the post at the 11:38 mark.
Sassano and sophomore Lee Williams (Liverpool, England/Hillside) attempted two more shots for the Apps, but both were wide.
After exchanging fouls, GSU sophomore Joe Hughes was issued a yellow card with less than 15 minutes to go in the first half of play.
Sophomore Luis Calzadilla (Caracas, Venezuela/Bradenton Prep) attempted another shot for ASU at the 42:39 mark, but it was wide and forced the Mountaineers and Eagles to take the 0-0 tie into intermission.
Dreybus came out of the second half looking to score three minutes into the half, but his shot sailed high. Calzadilla followed behind Dreybus with a shot of his own, but his shot was wide.
Following two more GSU fouls, Dreybus kicked a hard shot to Bates and he converted it into one of his two saves on the afternoon. With time winding down in the half, Sassano drilled the game-winning shot. The goal was Sassano's second for the season and ninth for the Mountaineers.
Senior Antonio Harley (Newport News, Va./Christchurch) attempted to add to the 1-0 advantage, but his sliding kick went wide. The Eagles' Austin Steele and Jon Cox were issued yellow cards and the Black and Gold defense contained Georgia Southern and did not allow them to take another shot attempt in the final minutes of play.
Junior Collin Taylor (Morganton, N.C./Freedom), who had three saves, secured the win, bringing his record to 2-1-2, while Bates took the loss, moving his record to 1-1.
The Mountaineers outshot the Eagles, 11-6, with Dreybus taking four of the shots.
Appalachian returns to action on Oct. 5, taking on #20 Wake Forest at 7 p.m. from Spry Stadium.
College of Charleston 1, Davidson 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's soccer team outlasted Davidson in a physical battle on Saturday afternoon at Patriots Point. The Cougars scored an early game and weathered the Wildcats' attack to come away with the win.
The win, the Cougars' sixth consecutively, improves CofC to 6-2-1 (1-0 SoCon) on the year. Davidson falls to 4-3-1 (0-2 SoCon) with the setback.
The game demonstrated the history these teams share with each other as it was highly physical and flowed from end to end. The Cougars now own a slim 10-9 advantage in the rivalry which dates back to 1991, the Cougars' first season in Division I.
The Cougars converted an early, sixth minute goal when Ralphie Lundy (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) sent a free kick from 30 yards into a crowd in the box. Sean Flatley eluded his defender to get his head on the ball and deflected it off the crossbar and into the net.
The Cougars controlled a 15-6 shot advantage but the action was not as one-sided as the statistic indicates. The physical, aggressive play from both sides brought on 21 total fouls in the match.
Prior to the game, head coach Ralph Lundy was honored for his 400th career coaching victory which came last week against Wake Forest. Now with 402 wins, Lundy is in the top 10 winningest coaches in Division I history.
The Cougars look to extend their win streak to seven when they host Wofford on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Patriots Point.
Elon 1, UNCG 0 (2 OT)
GREENSBORO, N.C.. - Gabe Latigue tucked a low liner just inside the left post for his fourth goal of the season to give Elon a 1-0 double-overtime victory over UNCG in Southern Conference men's soccer action Saturday night at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Latigue took a pass from Brad Franks and let it rip from the right wing. The ball skidded across the turf and went just inside the post for the only tally of the night.
The win raised Elon's mark to 4-2-3 overall, 2-0-0 in SoCon play. UNCG lost its third straight and fell to 4-5-1 overall, 0-1-0 in SoCon play.
"Soccer is a cruel game and it can go either way (in overtime)," said UNCG interim head coach Justin Maullin. "I thought the first half of the extra time we were very good. Thought the way we were playing we were going to win it. But their guy hits a shot off the post and just like that, the game's over."
Both teams had several great chances to score throughout the night. However, Elon's Clint Irwin and UNCG's Peyton Ford were equal to the task in goal. Ford finished with five saves, while Irwin had seven saves.
One of UNCG's best chances of the night came early in the second half. Eli Garner hit a shot from just outside the box that looked to be hooking in the top left corner of the goal. But Irwin made a leaping save to keep the match scoreless.
Elon had a 20-14 advantage in shots, while UNCG had a 7-6 advantage in corner kicks.
The Spartans have off until next Sunday when it visits Georgia Southern for a conference match at 2 p.m.
Wofford 1, Winthrop 1 (2 OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - In a match plagued by ten yellow cards total for both teams, the men's soccer program drew even with the Winthrop Eagles, 1-1, after two scoreless overtimes. The Terriers took a quick lead, scoring in first minute and a half of play and held on to the lead for 76 minutes. The Eagles tied the game in the 77th minute, sending the match into overtime, after a 1-1 regulation score. The two overtimes ended with the same result, 1-1. The Terriers will grab a 1-4-2 record, as they prepare for their first conference match. Winthrop's draw gives the team a 3-5-1 record on the year.
The Terriers completely controlled the first half of play having 12 shots, compared to Winthrop's 2 and scoring in the first two minutes of play. Armin Kinigadner placed a high volley cross to Wilson Hood off an awarded corner kick. Hood took the ball on the head and knocked it to Billy Padula, who headed the ball into the Eagles net. Hood and Kinigadner shared the assist, and Padula's score is the freshman's first of the season and first of his career. Coach Polson's program took a 1-0 advantage and held the one goal lead into the second half.
The Eagles switched the momentum in the second half and took control of the field, taking 12 shots to Wofford's one in the second 45. Winthrop took advantage of a scoring opportunity in the 77th minute, tying the game 1-1. Winthrop's Matt Stinson took control of a rebounded ball near the top of the 18' box and skipped the ball past Andrew Drennan to the low right corner. At the end of regulation the match was sent into sudden victory overtime with a 1-1 score.
The Terriers had multiple opportunities to put the game away during overtime, but fell just short on every attempt. The second overtime highlighted a string of attacks that thrilled the crowd, and nearly put the game away.
At the 7:53 mark in the second overtime, Hood had a brilliant opportunity at the 6', catching the Eagle defense off guard, but pushed the ball wide. Close to a minute later, Hood fired off another attempt from the right wing of the field, sailing the ball just wide right of the goal.
Ryan Hurst kept the pressure going at the 3:55 mark, sneaking past the Eagle defense and having a one-on-one opportunity against Winthrop's Tom Banfield, having Banfield make a great save to keep the overtime scoreless. Hurst was moved to the forward position for the second overtime to add pace and speed with fresh legs to the offensive attack.
Andrew Eppelsheimer almost ended the game at the 3:32 mark, firing a powerful shot just wide of the left side of the goal. Scott Redding had a shot saved in the last minute and a half of the second overtime, bulleting a shot toward the net after taking control of a ball that bounced toward him near the front of the box.
Winthrop forced the fans at Snyder Field to hold a long breath in the last five seconds of play, having a shot from Matt Horn glance off the high cross bar as time ran out at the end of the second overtime. The match ended after two ten minute overtimes in a 1-1 draw.
The defending SoCon champions begin conference play this Tuesday as they face College of Charleston. Coach Polson commented on the upcoming match, saying "We have gotten through the non-conference games. Now what we are doing is beginning the defense of our 2009 championship. Conference play starts on Tuesday against a very good Charleston team, who has had some great results already." The game will take place in Charleston at 7:00 p.m.
Charlotte 1, Furman 0
Charlotte, N.C. - Donnie Smith scored in the 12th minute and Gavin Dawson recorded seven saves to lead the Charlotte 49ers to a 1-0 victory over Furman in non-conference men's soccer on Saturday evening.
The 49ers controlled play from the opening kickoff outshooting Furman 4-1 and earning five corner kicks in the first 11 minutes before Smith netted his first goal of the season at the 11:36 mark by directing an Anthony Perez pass past Paladin keeper Alec Kann for the only tally of the match.
Furman turned the flow of play in its favor during the second half after being outshot 12-2 before intermission, but late efforts from Fabien Vorbe and Josh Lietch were stopped by Dawson and Brooks Duff had a second half shot flash wide of the post.
Dawson earned the shutout to push the 49ers to 5-4-0 on the season while Furman slipped to 5-4-1. Kann notched six saves for Furman in the loss.
Charlotte finished the match with a 16-15 edge in shots while each team totaled eight shots on goal. The 49ers managed a 10-2 edge in corner kicks. There were four yellow cards handed out, including three in the second half.
Furman returns home on Tuesday to host the Campbell Camels. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Stone Soccer Stadium.