Davidson 2, College of Charleston 2 (2 OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Senior Allen Page scored the game-tying goal for Davidson in the 87th minute to give the Wildcats a 2-2 draw with College of Charleston Tuesday night in Alumni Stadium, earning Davidson home field advantage in the first round of the Southern Conference Men's Soccer Championship. Fourth-seeded Davidson will host fifth-seeded Appalachian State on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
Page's goal spared the ‘Cats an early trip to Boone, N.C., as a loss would have placed Davidson (8-7-3, 3-2-2 SoCon) fifth in the conference and given Appalachian State the fourth seed and home field advantage. The ‘Cats t
"I knew this was going to be a tough, tight match," said Davidson head coach Matt Spear. "Charleston is talented, as de Silva and Twohig showed with two excellent strikes. They had some very good non-Conference results this season, such as defeating South Carolina and a tie against Wake Forest."
College of Charleston (5-7-5, 1-3-3 SoCon) took a 2-1 lead in the 82nd minute on a Francis Twohig goal, but was unable to hold on for the win. The Cougars were in the lead for most of the game as Sean de Silva scored in the fourth minute after Robbie Benson earned a turnover and found him open just inside the 18-yard box.
"Charleston started each half a bit better than us," said Spear. "They were also strong on set pieces, and we need to be better on both accounts."
Davidson did not answer until the 70th minute when Jake Keator scored off a corner kick. Junior midfielder Peter Paras played the ball to the far, left post on the corner kick attempt, where sophomore Chris Pettiglio headed it into the six-yard box. Junior midfielder Brian McGue headed it again towards the right post, and sophomore Jake Keator struck it out of mid-air and into the back of the net.
"We came from behind twice, so our guys showed poise and determination," said Spear. "And for Allen Page to score the crucial second goal late in regulation will give him even more confidence for the next game."
Senior goalkeeper Chip Sanders made five saves for Davidson, including a big one with less than six minutes remaining in the second overtime. Sanders got just enough of a shot from Shawn Ferguson to redirect it off the crossbar and over the goal. College of Charleston goalkeeper Kees Heemskerk made four saves.
The Wildcats now look forward to their SoCon tournament match against Appalachian State (9-4-4, 3-2-2 SoCon), a team they defeated in Alumni Stadium 3-0 Saturday night. The two schools tied for fourth place in the SoCon regular season standings, but Davidson was awarded the fourth seed by virtue of the head-to-head win.
The fourth place finish in the SoCon standings is the ‘Cats' best since 2005, when they won the regular season title.
Appalachian State 1, East Tennessee State 0 (2 OT)
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - ASU junior David Dodge (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) netted the game-winner early in the second overtime period, as Appalachian State men's soccer (9-4-4) defeated ETSU (9-6-3) in non-conference action Tuesday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
By virtue of Davidson's Tuesday-night tie with College of Charleston, the Mountaineers take the No. 5 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament and will travel to face No. 4 Davidson in a quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
Appalachian's Boubacar Toure (Atlanta, Ga./Georgia Perimeter College) tallied the first two shots of the game, and the Apps recorded five total in the half, but neither team's strikers were able to stay on target, as zero of nine combined first-half attempts were on goal.
The second half saw Appalachian goalkeeper Danny Free (Doncaster, England/Hall Cross School) make the first save of the game on a shot by ETSU's leading scorer, Aaron Schoenfeld. The Bucs out-shot the Black and Gold by a 7-2 margin in the half, but ASU's defense was back to its usual formidable form.
After regulation time ended scoreless, the teams went to overtime, when Schoenfeld again recorded the only shot on goal in the period, while Free picked up another save.
It was little more than a minute into the second overtime period when Sean Dreybus (Newport News, Va./Warwick) took the ball deep into the corner and served a cross into the middle. Dodge connected and sent the ball into the upper left corner for his second goal-and second game-winner-of the season.
With his pair of saves in net, Free preserved his seventh shutout of the season, tying the program record. Toure finished with a team-high four shots, trailing only the five of ETSU's Schoenfeld.
The Mountaineers now turn their attention back to Davidson, as the Wildcats handed the Apps a 3-0 loss in ASU's SoCon regular-season finale. The two squads will face each other in the final game of the quarterfinal round, scheduled for Sunday at 7 p.m. at Davidson's Alumni Stadium.
Elon 2, Duke 2 (2 OT)
DURHAM, N.C. - Elon forward Chris Thomas netted back-to-back second half goals as the Elon Phoenix and Duke Blue Devils played to a 2-2 draw in non-conference men's soccer action at Koskinen Stadium on Tuesday night. Elon (6-9-2) and Duke (9-6-2) played to a tie for the second consecutive meeting after the teams battled to a 1-1 draw in 2010.
The Phoenix remained unbeaten against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents this year with wins over Clemson and Wake Forest.
"This was another hard fought college soccer game," commented Elon head men's soccer coach Darren Powell. "We thought we played well in spells and they played well in spells. We were impressed with the intensity of our guys to come out and get two good goals to start the second half. Now we have to prepare for the start of the Southern Conference Tournament this weekend."
After a quiet first half that saw Duke with the lone goal, Elon came out firing in the second period. Earning an early corner kick, the Phoenix batted the ball around in the box before Nick Millington crossed the ball in front of the goalmouth and found Thomas on the right post. Thomas headed in the equalizer in the 47th minute, his team-leading sixth goal of the year.
Minutes later, the Phoenix struck again. Senior midfielder James Carroll sent a long pass forward to Thomas who was doubled up by Duke defenders. Thomas pulled a great move to separate himself from the Blue Devils and send a perfect strike past diving goalie James Belshaw to put Elon on top, 2-1, in the 50th minute.
Duke kept the pressure and with just under 18 minutes remaining in the contest, the Devils struck again. Christopher Tweed-Kent served the ball from deep on the left side of the field into the middle of the box, finding Matt Slotnick who finished the short shot into the middle of the net.
Both teams had chances in the overtime minutes, but neither team could find the back of the net after two extra sessions. Duke outshot the Phoenix 17-12 in the contest and owned a 9-6 edge in corner kicks.
The home team controlled much of the possession in the opening period and Duke notched the game's first score in the 28th minute. Tweed-Kent had the service and Andrew Wenger sent a driving strike to the far post.
Elon keeper Nathan Dean posted four saves in the effort while Belshaw was credited with two stops.
Elon will begin Southern Conference Tournament play this weekend when it travels to Statesboro, Ga. The Phoenix and Georgia Southern Eagles will square off at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 6. Georgia Southern defeated Elon 4-2 in the regular-season meeting.
UNCG 0, UNC Wilmington 0 (2 OT)
GREENSBORO, N.C.-UNCG men's soccer closed out its regular season by playing UNC Wilimgton to a scoreless draw on Tuesday at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
The Spartans (8-7-2 overall), who clinched the Southern Conference regular season title last Saturday at Elon, enter the SoCon Tournament this weekend as the No. 1 seed.
Both teams enjoyed a strong defensive effort for 110 minutes. Statistically speaking the match was nearly even, with UNCG owning slight (15-14) edge in shots.
UNCG goalkeeper Peyton Ford stopped four shots en route to his seventh consecutive shutout. Ford and Spartans' defensive unit haven't allowed a goal in the last four matches, spanning 380 minutes. Over the last seven matches, UNCG has allowed only two goals.
UNC Wilmington (3-12-2) keeper Brandon Miller made seven saves for the Seahawks.
Brian Graham led the Spartans with three shots, including two on-goal. Cameron Owens, Austin Miller and Ross Burki each had two shots for UNCG.
Tuesday's match was also the final regular season home game for seniors Kris Byrd and Will Mack, who were honored in pregame ceremonies.
The Spartans next begin defense of their SoCon Tournament championship when they host Wofford, 7 p.m., Saturday in quarterfinal action at UNCG Soccer Stadium. Tournament semifinals and finals are scheduled for Nov. 11 and 13 in Boone, N.C.