UNCG 2, #25 Charlotte 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. UNCG sophomore Eli Garner scored 33 seconds into the second half on a shot from 35 yards out and interim men's soccer coach Justin Maullin won his debut as the Spartans topped Charlotte, 2-1, in opening night men's soccer action at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Garner took a throw in from Aaron Reifschneider shortly after the second half kickoff, dribbled between two defenders and hit a blast from 35 yards away into the top of the net.
"A world class goal," said Maullin afterwards. He was every bit of 30-32 yards out and he is capable of that kind of shot."
"I couldn't be happier for our guys. This is a fantastic win for our program. We beat a team that has been ranked in the Top 25 in the preseason and we started a lot of young players tonight. This is an exciting win for our guys."
Maullin's statement was an understatement in terms of the new faces. The Spartans have 16 new faces on their roster this season. Seven of them were in the starting 11 on opening night. Of the 14 players that played on Wednesday night, nine of them were not on the roster a year ago.
Garner, a transfer from North Carolina, nearly made it 3-1 with 5:10 to play if it weren't for a leaping save by Charlotte's Klay Davis. Davis finished with two saves on the night.
UNCG got on the board first at 25:45 when Hakan Ilhan scored on a rebound from the right post. Fannar Annarsson's initial shot off a feed from Michael Bonilla hit the post. The rebound bounced to Ilhan who knocked it home for a 1-0 lead.
Charlotte, which was ranked No. 25 in the College Soccer News preseason poll and received votes in the NSCAA preseason rankings, tied it up 13 minutes later on an own goal. Tyler Gibson's shot from 18 yards out was knocked in by Matt Strine. Strine was trying to clear the ball to the far side of the net, but didn't quite get enough control of it.
But Garner's blast less than a minute into the second half stood up to give UNCG its first home opening win since 2006 and first opening day win since 2007. Peyton Ford made four saves for UNCG in the win.
UNCG travels to Creighton for a Saturday night match-up. Game time is set for 8 p.m. eastern time (7 p.m. local).
Furman 1, East Tennessee State 0
Greenville, S.C. -- Furman's Fabien Vorbe headed in the lone goal of the match in the 85th minute to lift the Paladins past East Tennessee State in the men's soccer opener for both schools on Wednesday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With under six minutes to play, Dane Roberts curled a 35-yard shot towards the far right-hand post that forced Buccaneer goalkeeper James Holt to make a leaping save to punch the ball straight up, but Vorbe headed in the loose ball on the rebound at 84:03 to give Furman the 1-0 victory.
"It's great to start with a win, especially at home," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "We played hard and got a shutout against a very good ETSU team tonight."
The Buccaneers (0-1) had the best opportunity to go in front early in the first half as Aaron Schoenfeld collected the ball down the right side of the box, but had his shot turned away by a charging Alec Kann. In the second half, ETSU mounted another strike with a cross to the top of the six-yard box that Itode Fubara sent over the bar with a sliding effort.
Kann recorded two saves to pick up the shutout for Furman while Holt stopped two shots in a losing effort for the Bucs.
The match featured just five shots on goal with ETSU holding a 9-7 edge in total shot attempts. The Bucs had six corner kicks to Furman's four. A total of 31 fouls were committed and three cautions handed out.
East Tennessee State returns to action Monday when it travels to Clemson. Furman (1-0) travels to Clinton, S.C., to face Presbyterian College on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Georgia Southern 4, USC Upstate 3
STATESBORO, Ga. - Witt Carlisle scored two goals, including the game winner in the 82nd minute to lift the Georgia Southern Men's Soccer Team to a 4-3 victory over USC Upstate in the Eagles' season opener Wednesday (September 1).
Carlisle, a sophomore from Alpharetta, Ga., tied the game in the 67th minute, beating Upstate goalkeeper Jason McCabe after a pass from Thomas Valikonis (Greenville, S.C.). Less than 15 minutes later, Carlisle stole the ball in the attacking third of the field and dribbled his way into the box. With McCabe closing in, the forward buried the left-footed shot in the right side of the net to give the Eagles the lead.
"We brought Witt (Carlisle) on to give us some fresh legs and he hit," Head Coach Kevin Kennedy said. "On both goals, he had great turns to find space for himself and he put it in the far corner."
Hakeem King put the Spartans on the board first, heading in a corner kick in the 25th minute. Ethan LaPan (Martinez, Ga.) evened the match for the Eagles in the 32nd minute, finishing a give and go with fellow freshman Hunter Norton (Evans, Ga.).
Rich Heyer (Tupelo, Miss.) gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead early in the second half, burying a ball Valikonis, who finished with a pair of assists. Timo Foerster assisted both John Kadane (47th minute) and John Collins (53rd minute) to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead before Carlisle came through for the Eagles.
"I was disappointed with the way we gave up the goals and the type of goals we gave up, but I was proud of the spirit to fight back and get back in the game and get the goals when we needed them," Kennedy said of his team's performance.
Georgia Southern out-shot Upstate 15-12, including an 11-6 mark in the second half. Ryan Platt (Preston, England) made five saves in the victory for the Eagles.
The Eagles next contest is Sept. 7 against Jacksonville. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Jacksonville, Fla.
High Point 1, Elon 0
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Karo Okiomah's penalty kick in the 82nd minute of action proved the difference as the High Point Panthers pulled out a 1-0 victory against the visiting Elon Phoenix at Vert Stadium in front of over 1,500 fans in the season-opener for both teams.
"This was another highly fought college soccer match," commented Elon head coach Darren Powell. "I thought we put some good sequences together and the late penalty was unfortunate. High Point made the most of their opportunity. We have to regroup tomorrow and get ready to play a very good Charlotte team on Saturday."
After a slow start, Elon gained much of the momentum in the final half but could not find the back of the net. With under 10 minutes to play, an inadvertent hand ball in the box awarded the Panthers a penalty kick. Phoenix goalkeeper Clint Irwin got a hand on Okiomah's shot, but the ball bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and fell into the goal. The shot was High Point's lone attempt of the second half.
Phoenix sophomore Chris Thomas had a chance immediately after High Point took the lead, but goalie Michael Chesler made a great save to secure the Panther victory.
High Point got off to a quick start with several opportunities in the first part of the contest. In the 12th minute of action, Panther forward Shane Macolm rocketed a shot off the crossbar and minutes later Karo Okiomah's shot hit the side of the net.
Elon managed to stave off the attack and made some adjustments as the half wore on. With just under 20 minutes to play before the break, Thomas took a ball from a streaking James Carroll in the midfield but his shot went just wide of the far post.
In the 36th minute, Thomas had another opportunity for the Phoenix. Senior Ben Lunka crossed the ball from his position out wide and midfielder Brad Franks headed it forward into the box for Thomas. The forward turned for the short shot but Chesler was there to block it away.
After being outshot 7-2 in the first 45 minutes, Elon dominated possession in the final half. The Phoenix got good pressure on goal off early corner kicks and strong crosses from the foot of rookie Daniel Lovitz. Sophomore Gabe Latigue nearly put Elon on top in the 52nd minute but his blistering shot went just wide. Thomas, who had five the Phoenix's six shots, also left one wide with under 20 minutes remaining.
Elon owned a 7-3 edge in corner kicks while High Point finished with an 8-6 advantage in shots. The foul count totaled 24.
The Phoenix remains on the road as it travels to Charlotte to face the 49ers on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m.