SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford men's soccer team scored two goals in the opening half of play to take a 2-1 win over USC Upstate Monday evening in the opening contest of the 2011 season.

Wofford struck immediately, as Carlos Dominguez Gonzalez scored his first career goal as a Terrier, finding the back of the net 18 seconds into the match. Taylor Grim and Dennis Moore were credited with assists.

In the 33rd minute of play, Alex Hutchins headed the ball past Spartan goalkeeper Jason McCabe into the back right corner of the net following a free kick taken Turner Almond from 25 yards out.

USC Upstate was able to get on the board in the final seconds of play as Colin Francis had a free kick from 25 yards out curve in past Terrier goalkeeper Zach Woolever.

Hutchins paced the offensive attack for the Terriers, putting two shots on goal, including the game-winner.

"I thought we played a very good first half, but felt that we never got in sync in the second half, and had to deal with a lot of pressure" stated Wofford head coach Ralph Polson. "USC Upstate did a good job possessing the ball in the 2nd half. I'm thankful that we were strong enough to hold on a get the victory."

The two squads battled intensely throughout the 90 minutes of play, as five yellow card warnings and 27 fouls were issued between the two teams.

The Terriers will return to action this Thursday afternoon as they face Gardner-Webb in the Big South/SoCon Shootout, hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. The match is set for a start time of 4:30 pm.

No. 22 Duke 1, Furman 0

Greenville, S.C. -- Duke's James Belshaw stopped eight shots to help the 22nd-ranked Blue Devils hold off Furman, 1-0, in men's soccer action before a crowd of 2,747 on Monday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.

"That was a great college soccer game and a tremendous atmosphere created by our students," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "Duke's a good team and deserves a lot of credit. We created a lot of chances tonight, but have to find a way to finish a few."
Furman (0-1-1) came out on the attack in the opening minutes an create a number of dangerous situations for Belshaw and the Duke (1-1-0) back line. Freshman Nikolai Hammer was played through on a 1-v-1 with Belshaw but came up empty and another build led to a point-blank shot from Martin Ontiveros that Belshaw turned away.

After the Paladins failed to find the net in the first 15 minutes, Duke capitalized on its first chance of the night. Andrew Morales swung a corner kick towards the top of the six-yard box and Sebastien Ibeagha rose above the Furman defense to head the cross over the goal line at 15:04.

The Paladins came close to equalizing several times after the break. In the 63rd minute, Ontiveros played Coleton Henning in behind the defense and Henning went to the ground while rounding the keeper, but no penalty kick was given. With just over 10 minute to play, freshman Walker Zimmerman headed an Ontiveros corner kick only to see his goal-bound shot smothered by a diving Belshaw.

Furman outshot Duke 18-13 and managed an 8-4 edge in shots on goal. Belshaw earned the shutout while Paladin keeper Alec Kann notched three saves in the loss.

The Paladins look to break into the win column on Friday when they face Rutgers in the opening match of the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. Furman will battle Princeton in the final round of the tournament on Sunday at noon.