#6 Elon 1, #3 Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - A Gabe Latigue goal in the 48th minute was the lone difference as the Elon men's soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament with a 1-0 victory at Georgia Southern in opening round action on Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field. Elon (7-10-2) will take on the winner of No. 2 Furman and No. 7 College of Charleston.
"The team showed great character, determination and resiliency to keep a clean sheet," said Elon head coach Darren Powell. "We scored a good goal to start the second half and we were able to hold on against a talented GSU team. Now we await the outcome of the College of Charleston versus Furman tonight to see who we play next Friday in the semifinals."
After a scoreless first half, the Phoenix attacked early in the final period. Latigue brought the ball down the left side of the field before it was deflected out to sophomore Matt Wescoe on the opposite side. He served a great ball into the box, finding Latigue who buried his third goal of the year. Georgia Southern keeper Ryan Platt got a touch on the ball but was unable to make the stop and the goal proved the eventual game winner.
The physical match saw Elon with the majority of the possession, especially in the final period. The Phoenix forced Platt to make nine saves in the effort. Elon goalies Reed Dillard and Nathan Dean combined for the shutout after Dillard was forced to the sidelines midway through the first half following a collision with an Eagle player. Both Elon goalkeepers tallied a save in the victory.
Elon outshout Georgia Southern 14-10, including an 8-3 advantage in the last 45 minutes. The Phoenix held the 8-6 edge in corner kicks as well.
Elon has advanced to the championship game one time during its time in the Southern Conference. In 2009, the Phoenix defeated College of Charleston to advance to the title game against Wofford.
The semifinals and finals of the league tournament will be held in Boone, N.C., beginning on Friday, November 11. Elon will play at 6:30 on Friday evening.
#2 Furman 2, #7 College of Charleston 1
Greenville, S.C. -- Freshman Clint Ritter netted a goal and added an assist as 19th-ranked Furman downed College of Charleston, 2-1, in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament on Sunday evening at Stone Stadium. The Paladins advance to face seventh-seeded Elon in the semifinals on Friday, November 11, at 6:30 p.m. in Boone, N.C.
With the victory, their third straight, the Paladins extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches and improved to 14-2-4 on the season.
Ritter, a native of Cedar Hill, Texas, helped Furman open the scoring just 13 seconds before the half hour mark. Martin Ontiveros played a short corner kick to Ritter and the winger served a cross to the top of the six-yard box where fellow freshman Walker Zimmerman headed home his fifth goal of the season.
Furman came close to doubling its lead as Zimmerman hit the cross bar before the half and had another header saved off of the line by a Cougar defender early in the second half. Ritter finally added the insurance goal the Paladins needed at 66:40. Danny Hojaij received a pass in space near the top of the box and rocketed a shot towards net that rebounded to Ritter who deposited his chance into net for his second goal of the season.
College of Charleston (5-8-5) trimmed the lead in half just four minutes later as Sean de Silva bounced a ball off of the post that George Khoury finished into the top of the net from close range at 70:42.
Both teams created opportunities in the final minutes, but senior Alec Kann and the Furman defense held to preserve the Paladins eighth victory at home during the 2011 campaign. Kann notched two saves to earn the victory while Charleston keeper Kees Heemskerk recorded four saves for the Cougars.
Furman compiled a commanding 16-7 edge in shots and 7-3 advantage in shots on goal while earning seven corner kicks to just three for CofC.
The Paladins semifinal match against Elon on Friday will follow the opening semifinal featuring top-seed UNC Greensboro and host Appalachian State at 4 p.m.
Fans can log onto www.SoConSports.com for free live streaming of the semifinal matches and live scoring.
#5 Appalachian State 2, #4 Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Junior Boubacar Toure (Atlanta, Ga./Georgia Perimeter College) scored two late goals for the Mountaineers as fifth-seeded Appalachian State men's soccer (10-4-4) defeated host, and No. 4 seed Davidson (8-8-3) by a score of 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Championship Tournament at Alumni Stadium on Sunday night.
The win avenges the Apps' 3-0 loss to the Wildcats in the Black and Gold's final SoCon game, and earns the Mountaineers a spot in Friday's semifinals in Boone.
"Any elimination game is going to be a battle," noted head coach Matt Nelson. "Davidson is an extremely tough and dangerous team. Both of our teams had chances, and they couldn't capitalize on theirs, while we were able to put ours away."
Both teams looked tight in the first half, as it took over 15 minutes for Sean Dreybus (Newport News, Va./Warwick) to tally the first shot of the game. Appalachian out-shot the Wildcats, 7-6, in the opening stanza but the teams entered the break deadlocked at 0-0.
In the second half, numerous Davidson shots threatened Appalachian's chances. The Wildcats opened the period with seven unanswered shots and two corner kicks. ASU sophomore Danny Free (Doncaster, England/Hall Cross School) made several exciting saves to keep the teams level.
Midway through the period, DC's Chris Pettiglio recovered the ball inside the box and launched it towards the goal, sailing over the crossbar by mere inches. With 21 minutes to play, Allen Page earned a clear look at the net, but his header also missed high, allowing a moment to breathe for the Appalachian fans present.
With under ten minutes to play, ASU defender Mark Bridges (Morganton, N.C./East Burke) served a long ball down the right side for Toure. Toure recovered and shook the final defender to put himself in a one-on-one with Davidson keeper Chip Sanders. A feint by Toure sealed the deal, as the forward circumnavigated the goalie and chipped his shot into the net from close range to earn the 1-0 lead.
With the Wildcats scrambling, the Davidson defense pushed up, allowing the Appalachian forwards several opportunities to penetrate deep. With under three minutes remaining, an ASU attack was broken up illegally, earning a penalty kick for the Mountaineers.
Toure took the honors, and despite the jeers of several hundred Davidson fans, he calmly struck his shot into the left side, icing the game and a 2-0 victory.
Appalachian's Free had eight saves in net and set a new ASU record with eight shutouts on the year. As a team, the Mountaineers have recorded 11 shutouts total, beating the previous school best of 9.
Toure led the Mountaineers with six shots on the day. Dreybus, Lee Rutter (Nottingham, England/South Nottingham), and Sekani Sinclair (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas) each posted two shots in the game.
Appalachian will now host UNCG in the tournament semifinal on Friday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m.
"This season, we've come together as a group and played as a team," continued Nelson. "It is a big help to be able to play home games from here."
The semifinals and championship game will be hosted by Appalachian State at ASU Soccer Stadium at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex in Boone, N.C.