College of Charleston 3, Lehigh 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's soccer team closed out its perfect weekend with a 3-0 victory over Lehigh to win the 10th annual Nike / Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic at Patriots Point.
CofC gains a winning record with the victory and moves to 3-2-1 on the year. Lehigh is 3-3-1 after the setback.
"First of all, they beat us 3-2 at Lehigh last year, so I loved that we could come back and win the next year," said head coach Ralph Lundy. "It was pretty hot and humid today which were good conditions for us. We wore them down and took advantage of it. I'm happy to get this 'W' and happy to win the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Tournament."
"We played attractive attacking soccer like we did on Friday night, so there's a trend going here."
The Cougars got on the board just before halftime and netted two insurance goals in the second half to gain the win.
Kees Heemskerk (Zaandam, Holland) played the full ninety minutes and made two saves en route to the shutout win. Heemskerk was also spotless in the Friday-night matchup with Bucknell and didn't allow a goal in the tournament.
The Cougars spent a vast majority of the first half on the offensive side of the field and had a 12-2 first-half shot advantage. They finally capitalized in the 43rd minute when Justin Fojo (Port of Spain, Trinidad) fed a ball into Sean De Silva (Port of Spain, Trinidad) at the top of the box. De Silva ripped a shot through traffic from 20 yards out that left the keeper no chance and found the back of the net.
"It was a nice team effort, but Sean de Silva's goal right before the half kind of broke their backs," said Lundy. (Justin) Fojo played him a wonderful quick pass and Sean put it right on the money. That takes clutch performance for a guy to produce when it's right there and he did it. He's been doing it and he's just a sensational young player."
De Silva struck for the second time six minutes into the second half when he fired a shot from the top of the box at Lehigh keeper Jonathan Nydell. Nydell got a good piece of the shot, but the ball slipped through his legs and crept over the goal line.
The Cougars added an insurance goal off of one of their nine corner-kick opportunities in the 69th minute. Ralph Lundy, III (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) sent a strong, left-footed boot into the box where Jake Helmig (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) headed it home from the top of the six-yard box.
After the tournament, De Silva, Shawn Ferguson (Rock Hill, S.C.), Francis Twohig (St. Simon's Island, Ga.) and Sean Bateau (Chapin, S.C.) were named to the eleven-man all-tournament team. Fojo was named the Hertz, McKay Magel Most Valuable Player.
"Fojo was a leader all weekend and has been such a strong senior captain," said Lundy.
The Cougars will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. to face No. 14 Wake Forest on Tuesday, Sept. 21. CofC has the hopes of extending its win streak to four matches.
"I'm happy with how my team is playing," said Lundy. "We will go to Wake Forest and that's going to be a wonderful challenge for us. That's what we want. We want to play the best teams in the country.
Furman 2, Bucknell 1
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. - Freshman Michael Channel netted a pair of goals to lead Furman to a 2-1 victory over Bucknell in non-conference men's soccer action at the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic on Sunday afternoon.
Playing in just his second collegiate match, Channell chipped a shot over the charging Bucknell keeper at the 70:47 mark to break a 1-1 tie and notch his first career match-winning goal.
The win improved the Paladins to 4-2-0 on the season while Bucknell, ranked fourth in the NSCAA's Mid-Atlantic Region poll, slipped to 2-4-0.
Channell, a native of Boca Raton, Fla., opened the scoring with his first career goal at the 25:20 mark. The forward connected on an Eric Cobleigh cross into the box and directed his header inside the far post from eight yards out.
Ross Liberati knotted the match at 1-1 in the 67th minute for the Bison. Liberati headed a Mayowa Alli cross past Furman keeper Maros Valko for his third goal of the campaign.
Alec Kann saved five shots while Valko came on in the second half to record one save and earn the victory in goal for the Paladins. Tommy Casso, who saved two shots, took the loss for Bucknell. Furman trailed 9-7 in total shots and 7-4 in shot attempts on goal.
The Paladins return home on Wednesday night to host upstate rival Clemson in a 7 p.m. match at Stone Soccer Stadium.
Fans can follow Furman men's soccer all season long with live statistics and game reports at www.furmanpaladins.com as well as in-game updates of home matches at www.twitter.com/FurmanPaladins.
Sean De Silva - CofC
Shawn Ferguson - CofC
Francis Twohig - CofC
Sean Bateau - CofC
James Meyerkord - Lehigh
Austin Decker - Lehigh
James Graf - Lehigh
Nicky MacKain - Furman
Jacob Brown - Furman
Ross Liberati - Bucknell
Travis Rand - Bucknell
Hertz, McKay Magel MVP Award:
Justin Fojo - CofC
Georgia Southern 4, Winthrop 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Men's Soccer team was in control from start to finish in a 4-0 victory over Winthrop Sunday, September 19, at Eagle Field.
The Eagles' defense didn't give up a single shot on goal, holding Winthrop to just five shots, all in the second half. Three of those shots came on free kicks.
The offense was equally impressive in the match, scoring three goals in the final six minutes after Jon Cox (Alpharetta, Ga.) scored what proved to be the game winner in the 30th minute. Cox received the ball at the top of the 18-yard box from Muhamed Sidibeh (Gambia). Hunter Norton (Evans, Ga.) was also credited with an assist on the play, hitting Sidibeh on a run to the left corner.
Georgia Southern improved to 3-2-1 on the season, while Winthrop fell to 2-4-0.
Cox scored his second goal of the game in nearly the same spot on the opposite end of the field. He found the ball at his feet of a deflection, and blasted it to the right post in the 90th minute to push the score to 4-0.
Ethan LaPan (Martinez, Ga.) scored his second goal of the season in the 85th minute to give Georgia Southern a 2-0 advantage. Cox stood over the ball 35 yards in front of the goal on a free kick, and LaPan ran to the left post, received the pass from Cox, and beat Winthrop goalkeeper, Enrique Miranda, for the goal.
A little over two minutes later, Luigi Clendening (Augusta, Ga.) scored his first goal of the season, dancing past two defenders to find himself inside the six-yard box. He beat Miranda to the near post for the goal.
Neal Bates (Watkinsville, Ga.) was credited with the win in goal, going untested in his first start. The redshirt-freshman was key to holding the clean sheet, but wasn't forced to make a save due to the stellar performance of the defense, led by senior Austin Steele (Kennesaw, Ga.).
The Eagles open Southern Conference play in their next match, taking on Furman on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at Eagle Field. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Elon 2, Coastal Carolina 2 (2 OT)
ELON, N.C. - The Elon men's soccer team battled back from an early two-goal deficit, but could not get the go-ahead score as the Phoenix played the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to a 2-2 draw at Rudd Field on Sunday afternoon. Elon (2-2-2) is now unbeaten in its last four games as it opens Southern Conference play next Friday night at Davidson. Coastal moved to 3-2-1 overall this season.
"It is never easy to come back from two goals down early in a contest," said Elon head coach Darren Powell. "A good strike from Hunter Miller at the end of the first half gave new energy to our team and we were able to come back and tie the game. Again, either team could have won and we just have to learn from these experiences to help prepare for future games."
Elon had some great early chances on goal, including a bullet by Glenn Scott that went straight at the Coastal keeper following a Phoenix corner kick in the opening 10 minutes of the contest. Minutes later Gabe Latigue sent a perfect pass forward to Chris Thomas but his header went just high of the goal. Midway through the half, Denzel Ogunyase nearly put Elon on the board off a throw-in from Scott down the left side of the field, but the ball was blocked away.
Coastal took advantage of Elon's missed opportunities and controlled play for about a 10-minute span in the first half. In the 31st minute, Pedro Ribeiro sent a long cross from the right side of the field to the far post where Sebastian Bahos knocked in his second goal of the year to the opposite corner of the net.
Nine minutes later, the Chanticleers built on their lead. Kristoffer Sandtroen served a ball into the middle of the box from the right side where Joe Anderson headed in the short shot past a diving Clint Irwin to give the visitors the 2-0 advantage.
Elon managed to trim the deficit in half before the break when senior Hunter Miller's shot deflected off a defender and sailed over the fingertips of Coastal goalie Scott Angevine at 43:32.
It didn't take long in the second half for Elon to tie the game. Rookie Daniel Lovitz sent an Elon corner to the far post and Chris Thomas cleaned up the loose ball in the box to make it a 2-2 game. The score was Thomas' second of the weekend and fourth of the year.
With about 20 minutes to play, it was Lovitz again with service into the box, finding the head of Latigue. Angevine made a good save and the game stayed knotted at two. Thomas had another chance with about 16 minutes remaining in regulation, but a diving save by Angevine kept Elon from getting the go-ahead score.
Both teams were playing their second game in three days so fatigue set in as regulation wound down. Neither team had many opportunities in the extra minutes with the most notable chance being a rocket from Coastal's Ribeiro that went just wide midway through the first extra session.
It was an evenly played match with Elon holding the slight 17-16 edge in shots and both teams taking seven corner kicks. Irwin made six saves in the contest and Angevine stopped five Phoenix shots.
Elon will get into Southern Conference play next Saturday when it travels to Davidson for a rematch of last year's overtime thriller that featured a golden goal by Phoenix midfielder Brad Franks. The kick is scheduled for 7 p.m.