College of Charleston 3, East Tennessee State 2
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's soccer team held off East Tennessee State University in a thrilling opening-round match of the 2010 Men's Soccer Championship. The Cougars built a 3-0 lead before surrendering two goals but preserved the 3-2 result.
The win advances CofC (11-4-3) to the second round of the tournament where they will face tournament No. 1 seed Louisville at the Cardinal Park Track and Soccer Complex on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.
"I'm really proud of our team tonight, especially of their fight and character in the second half," said head coach Ralph Lundy. "East Tennessee State is an excellent soccer team and played with a lot of energy and really challenged us. They put a lot of pressure on us, especially in the second half, but we were up to the challenge."
The Cougars were the more possessive team in the contest and did well to hold the ball in an effort to let their opportunities open up. As a result, the CofC was outshot, 15-12, but was able to make better use of the shots they took.
The Cougars were the better team in the early going and had ETSU on their heels from the onset. CofC inevitably broke through in the 24th minute when Ralphie Lundy (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) sent a free kick into the box from 35 yards away where Sean Ferguson (Rock Hill, S.C.) elevated above the crowd and headed the ball over the keeper and into the net.
Less than five minutes of game clock later, Andy Craven (St. Simon's Island, Ga.) took advantage of a defensive miscue and streaked all by himself down the right side of the field. With the defense closing in from his left, he made one final move to beat the keeper and find the open net, putting CofC up 2-0.
The Cougars continued the onslaught in the 38th minute when Francis Twohig (St. Simon's Island, Ga.) unexpectedly rocketed a shot from 35 yards away and perfectly found the upper-right corner of the net to send the Cougars into the locker room up 3-0.
ETSU was not deterred, however, and pushed forward in the second half. In the 57th minute, the Bucs were awarded a penalty kick and Aaron Schoenfeld capitalized to the right-hand side of the goal.
Then in the 71st minute, ETSU drew even closer when Jaron Westbrook fired a low line drive from 35 yards which took a deflection along the way and found the back of the net, drawing the score to 3-2.
Though ETSU had some near misses down the stretch, that was as close as CofC would allow them to come as they closed out the match by the same score.
Kees Heemskerk (Zaandam, Holland) was brilliant in net once again for CofC and made five saves on the night.
"The thing I am most proud of tonight with this team is they kept their composure and fight, even when we had the pressure on us," said Lundy. "The second half couldn't have been scripted better for ETSU; they had the momentum but our kids managed to step up to the challenge.
"We had a lot of fight in us tonight and I couldn't be more pleased with the fight and heart of this team tonight."
Georgetown 3, UNCG 0
WASHINGTON, DC - UNCG saw its 11-game unbeaten streak and season come to an end Thursday in a 3-0 loss to Georgetown in first round action of the NCAA tournament.
The Spartans (12-6-4) never got on track as the Hoyas came out pressuring UNCG's every move, scored twice in the first 21 minutes. Ian Christanson opened the scoring at 8:12. The Hoyas had consecutive shots blocked by the Spartan defense before Christanson was able to softly tuck a ball inside the right post for his fifth tally of the season.
Georgetown (12-6-1) took a 2-0 lead on Andy Riemer's third goal of the season at 20:57. Seth C'debaca's corner kick found Riemer in the box for his third goal of the year.
Regrouping at the intermission, UNCG had a couple of chances to get on the scoreboard early in the second half. Fannar Arnarsson got free down the right side, but his shot sailed just wide. Brian Graham twice had chances at loose balls in front of the goal, but goalkeeper Matt Brutto scooped up both before Graham could chip them home.
Georgetown put the game out of reach at 82:22 when Chandler Diggs got through and scored from 12 yards out off Jose Colchao's feed. It was Colchao's second assist of the afternoon and sent Georgetown to a Sunday evening match-up with North Carolina in the second round of the tournament.
"It was just a case of too many of our players just didn't have one of their better games today," said UNCG interim coach Justin Maullin. "I don't know if that was Georgetown's doing or our undoing. Our defending is what has gotten us here this season and we didn't do it today. We gave up a goal on a set piece and also the early one."
Georgetown defeated the Spartans for the first time in four meetings between the schools. The Hoyas were making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1997 and were home in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993.
UNCG was making its 10th NCAA tournament appearance since moving to Division I in 1991 and the 19th overall.
"We had six freshmen starting today and three sophomores," said Maullin. "That's encouraging. I told the guys that I am not going to let this one game define our season. It has been an incredible year and an incredible journey. I told the guys that are returning for next season that they have set the bar for next year."
Georgetown wound up with a 25-11 advantage in shots on the afternoon. Peyton Ford had eight saves in goal for UNCG, including several diving stops to keep the Spartans in the match.