Elon 1, Clemson 0
ELON, N.C. - It was the perfect night for some college soccer as the Elon Phoenix battled through a steady rainfall at Rhodes Stadium to shutout the visiting Clemson Tigers, 1-0, in non-conference men's soccer action on Tuesday night. The lone goal came off the foot of junior forward Chris Thomas, who helped Elon (4-7-1) to its third consecutive victory over the Tigers (3-7-0).
"It was good to get a win against an ACC team," commented Elon head coach Darren Powell. "I felt the guys applied the right work ethic throughout the game tonight, which led to the victory. Now we look forward to getting back to conference play at Furman on Saturday night."
After several good opportunities, Elon got on the board late in the first half when Thomas knocked in his fourth goal of the year. Midfielder Danny Lovitz made a good run down the left side of the field and crossed the ball into the middle of the box. Thomas headed a perfect ball over the outstretched hands of Clemson goalie Cody Mizell to give the Phoenix a one-goal advantage at the 35:41 mark.
The game mirrored the 2010 matchup when Thomas netted the first-half game-winner in Elon's 1-0 shutout at Clemson.
About 25 minutes into the contest, Matt Wescoe nearly put the Phoenix on top. Lovitz again had the service, but Wescoe's soft touch went just wide of the far post.
Clemson's best opportunity came in the 30th minute on a strong shot by Riley Sumpter that was kicked away by Elon goalie Nathan Dean.
Elon nearly added to its lead midway through the second half. Gabe Latigue intercepted a pass in the midfield and made a run into Elon's offensive third. Latigue sent a short pass to the feet of Nick Millington on the right side. Millington's shot skipped just wide left of the goal.
The Phoenix dominated possession for the majority of the game, limiting Clemson to just five shots and not giving up a corner kick until the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Dean made three saves in the victory while Mizell was credited with two stops.
Elon will play its next two contests on the road, beginning with a trip to Greenville, S.C. to battle the Furman Paladins on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Wofford 3, Liberty 1
SPARTANBURG, N.C. - A cold, wet evening at Snyder Field was unable to slow down the Wofford men's soccer team, as the Terriers defeated Liberty by a 3-1 score Tuesday evening in non-conference play. The win improves Wofford's overall record to 4-7-1 on the season.
Wofford jumped to the early advantage, striking in the 8th minute of play when Forrest Lasso scored his first collegiate goal from just over four yards out. Carlos Dominguez Gonzalez was credited with the assist.
The Terriers built on their lead late in the first half, as Alex Hutchins was able to send the ball sailing past Liberty keeper Josh Pacella in the 36th minute of play, following passes from Turner Almond and Dennis Moore. The goal was the team-leading fourth of the season for the junior from Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Flames cut the lead to 2-1 in the 52nd minute, when Juan Nino put the ball into the back of the net from the right side of the box following a crossing pass from Kyle Breitmeyer.
The Terriers answered back shortly in the 58th minute, as Billy Padula scored his first goal of the season, rebounding the ball from a saved shot by Forrest Lasso, putting it into the upper left corner of the goal from just three yards away.
Ben Limbaugh earns the win for Wofford, picking up three saves while facing a total of 15 shots. Josh Pacella takes the loss for Liberty, recording five saves while facing 14 shots.
Wofford returns to Southern Conference play for its next contest, hosting UNC Greensboro this Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Snyder Field.
College of Charleston 0, Wake Forest 0 (2 OT)
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's soccer team battled Wake Forest to a double-overtime scoreless draw at Patriots Point on Tuesday evening's production of the National Soccer Coaches Association Game of the Week on the FOX Soccer Channel.
"It was a tale of two halves," said head coach Ralph Lundy. "We didn't play well in the first 35 minutes, but we turned it around in the last 65 minutes. I was really proud of how aggressively we played towards the end of the game. Wake Forest is a very good team, but we would have liked to have gotten a win out there tonight."
Lundy's point was apparent on the stat sheet as Wake Forest outshot the Cougars, 8-3, and benefited from a 4-2 corner-kick advantage in the first half.
The best chance of the match, however, most likely came for the Cougars in the fifth minute when Troy Peterson (Federal Way, Wash.) sent a ball into the box which Eric Fornell (Daniel Island, S.C.) slid on to the other end simultaneously to Wake Forest keeper Michael Lisch. Fornell squeezed the ball underneath Lisch and towards goal but defender Sam Fink made a sliding save to clear the ball off the goal line.
The Cougars equalized the shots in the second half with six aside and outshot Wake Forest, 4-3, in overtime.
Kees Heemskerk (Zaandam, Holland) played all 110 minutes and made eight saves for the Cougars.
The Cougars face another Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in No. 2 North Carolina on Friday, Oct. 14 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina State 1, Georgia Southern 0
RALEIGH, N.C. - Georgia Southern opened strong, but a second half shooting barrage by NC State gave the Pack a 1-0 win on cool, wet Tuesday evening at Dail Stadium. The loss drops the Eagles to 7-5-1 overall, but does not affect Georgia Southern's SoCon-leading 3-1-0 conference record. NC State moves to 5-6-2.
"We played one of the better halves of soccer this season to open the match, but we couldn't get the last pass in the final third," said Head Coach Kevin Kennedy. "In the second half we were a little stale and NC State pounced on us. They really shut us down after scoring the goal, and we only got one really good attack in late. We have to turn our attention to Appalachian State on Friday and figure out a way to stay top of the league."
The Eagles took the fight to the Wolfpack in the early minutes, taking control of the early run of play. Georgia Southern led NC State, 4-2 in shots in the opening period and 3-1 in shots on goal.
The tide, however, turned in the second half as NC State pushed forward logged nine shots in the first 25 minutes of the second half. The Wolfpack took the lead, 1-0 with a goal by Nazmi Albadwi in the 70th minute. He scored the one-timer past Eagle goalkeeper Ryan Platt (Preston, England) to earn the advantage with 20 minutes to play.
That goal would be decider as the Wolfpack held on for the 1-0 victory. Georgia Southern recorded just two shots in the second half and was led in attack by Hunter Norton (Evans, Ga.) with two shots.
Georgia Southern returns home for its last home match of the regular season against Appalachian State on Friday, October 14th. The match against the Mountaineers starts at 4 p.m.