Appalachian State 2, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - A pair of late Appalachian State goals took the Mountaineers pas Georgia Southern in men's soccer action at Eagle Field, 2-1 on Friday afternoon (October 14). Joe Hughes scored for the Eagles in the 32nd minute, but the Mountaineers scored in the 81st and 89th minute to secure the win. Georgia Southern is now 7-6-1 overall and 3-2-0 in SoCon play, while ASU improves to 8-2-2 overall and 3-0-0 in the SoCon to take first place in the league.
"I'm disappointed," said Head Coach Kevin Kennedy. "I thought App State worked tremendously hard and they got rewarded with two goals. I am, however, very disappointed with how we gave up the goals, particularly because we gave them up in the final 10 minutes of the match."
Georgia Southern took control of the match in the 32nd minute when Joe Hughes (Mooresville, N.C.) recorded his second goal of the season. An assist by Luigi Clendening (Augusta, Ga.) played the ball from the top of the box into the channel where Hughes bested the Mountaineer goalkeeper. The goal gave the Eagles a 1-0 edge to wrap-up a first half that was even in terms of possession.
"I thought it was a great build-up with Witt (Carlisle) taking the ball up and holding the ball for us," added Kennedy. "He combined well with Luigi (Clendening) who played a great ball in to Joe (Hughes). He showed a lot of composure on the ball to pick finesse over power for the goal."
With just 15 minutes remaining, Georgia Southern let a golden opportunity fall by the wayside. Clendening won a ball in the midfield and quickly passed to Hunter Norton (Evans, Ga.) who took the ball into the penalty area. He crossed the ball in front of goal where Ethan LaPan (Martinez, Ga.) was on hand for a sliding attempt from point blank range. The ball skipped partially past LaPan and was shot wide of goal.
The Mountaineers leveled the scoreline in the 81st minute on a header by Nicholas Skoda. He headed a long throw-in by Harrison Delbridge into the net to tie the teams at 1-1 with just nine minutes remaining in regulation.
Appalachian State, however, won the match in the 89th minute with a corner kick goal by Delbridge. He headed the corner by Ryan Lavigne into the upper corner of the net for the game-winner, 2-1.
Ryan Platt (Preston, England) made six saves for the Eagles who logged 12 shots on the afternoon with five tries on frame. Clendening and Drew Ruggles (Manassas, Va.) finished the match with four shots each.
Georgia Southern closes out the 2011 regular season against Elon on October 21st at 7 p.m. and again on October 25th at UNCG, also at 7 p.m.
No. 2 North Carolina 4, College of Charleston 2
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The College of Charleston men's soccer team dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 2 North Carolina in a back-and-forth contest at Fetzer Field on Friday night. The Cougars led early and later equalized after UNC had seized the lead but two second-half Tar Heel goals claimed the result.
The Cougars snatched the game's first lead when Robbie Benson (Rock Hill, S.C.) threaded a ball through the defense to spring Eric Fornell (Daniel Island, S.C.) towards goal and Fornell made the most of it with the game's first mark in the 17th minute.
UNC responded quickly with an equalizer off a corner-kick head-in by Matt Hughes and then took their first lead in the 26th minute with some clever passing and a laser of a shot by Martin Murphy into the lower-left corner of the net.
The Cougars had an answer of their own in the 32nd minute when Tony Kattreh (Neptune Beach, Fla.) kept a ball in play along the UNC endline and crossed it into the box where Troy Peterson (Federal Way, Wash.) volleyed it home from six yards away.
The second half flowed quietly from end to end until UNC seized its second league off an individual effort by Billy Schuler in the 57th minute. Schuler made a lateral run into space across the top of the box and then made a quick turn-and-shoot move back to his left and put the ball into the top of the net.
The Tar Heels added the insurance mark in the 73rd minute when Enzo Martinez found some space through the middle of the pitch and scored from a slight angle just inside the top of the box.
The match was the Cougars' fifth against a team ranked or receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll and only their second loss to such an opponent.
The Cougars return to Southern Conference action when they head to Boone, N.C., to face Appalachian State on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m.