Appalachian State 3, Hartwick 0
CONWAY, S.C. - Junior Ryan Lavigne (San Diego, Calif. / Sycamore) scored his first career goals to lift Appalachian men's soccer (4-2-1) to a 3-0 win over Hartwick (1-3-2) at the Coastal Carolina/adidas Tournament on Sunday.
The win marks Appalachian's fourth-straight shutout, tying a program record last accomplished in 2007. In addition, ASU clinched first place in the weekend's tournament, its second tournament championship in as many weeks.
Sean Dreybus (Newport News, Va. / Warwick) scored the Mountaineer's first goal just 15 minutes into the contest. Senior Mark Bridges (Morganton, N.C. / East Burke) broke loose down the right side and crossed the pass to Dreybus, who found the left side of the goal for his third goal of the year.
Lavigne, a transfer from Cincinnati, had a breakout day on the field. In the 23rd minute, he found the back of the net off an assist from Stanley Broaden (Wilmington, N.C. / Eugene Ashley) to score his first goal in college play.
Less than four minutes later, Lavigne slipped another past the keeper from distance, this time off a pass from Lee Williams (Liverpool, England / Hillside). Lavigne becomes this season's second ASU newcomer to net his first two career goals in the same day following Sekani Sinclair (Parkland, Fla. / Marjory Stoneman Douglas) in a 3-0 shutout of Catawba earlier this month.
Appalachian held Hartwick to only four shots on the day. Senior Collin Taylor (Morganton, N.C. / Freedom) stopped all three on net to earn his first shutout in two appearances this season; it was his 11th career shutout.
"Anytime you can play two games in a weekend, score four goals and give none away, that's a great weekend," reflects coach Matt Nelson. "Our guys have become a tight group. It's starting to show on the field and we've started putting our chances away."
The tournament-champion Mountaineers placed four players on the all-tournament team, including Harrison Delbridge (Raleigh, N.C. / Needham Broughton), Lee Rutter (Nottingham, England / South Nottingham), Williams and Lavigne. Williams was named tournament Defensive MVP.
The Mountaineers have a break until their next home game, a match against UNC Asheville on Tuesday, Sept. 25. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
College of Charleston 3, Denver 2
DENVER, Colo. - The College of Charleston men's soccer team concluded its trip out west with a 3-2 victory over Denver on Sunday afternoon. The Cougars took a 2-0 lead before allowing Denver back into the match but recaptured the lead for good in the 74th minute.
CofC improves to 4-2-1 with the win while Denver drops to 1-3-2.
CofC captured the lead with the game's first goal in the 25th minute when Ralphie Lundy (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) served a ball into the box. Shawn Ferguson (Rock Hill, S.C.) elevated above the crowd and got his head to the ball to move it to Troy Peterson (Federal Way, Wash.) who netted it for his third goal of the season.
CofC took the one-goal lead to the locker room despite being outshot, 6-5, by Denver.
In the second half, CofC pulled further ahead when Andy Craven (St. Simon's Island, Ga.) fed Sean de Silva (Port of Spain, Trinidad) in the box and de Silva scored from five yards for the 2-0 lead after 55 minutes of play.
Denver stormed back with a pair of goals by Brian Hoyt over the next 15 minutes of play. The first came off a ball into the box with assists by Jarod Stigall and Alex Tarnoczi and the equalizer was scored on a 40-yard free kick.
The Cougars wouldn't let the tie hold for long as Peterson sent a ball over Craven's head which Craven ran on to in stride and scored to the far side of the net from 15 yards.
The Pioneers outshot CofC 14-12 but both teams put five attempts on frame.
The Cougars now head back east to open the Southern Conference portion of their schedule. The SoCon slate opens at Wofford on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m.
Furman 1, Jacksonville 0
Jacksonville, Fla. -- Junior Alex Crooks scored on a 76th minute header to lift Furman to its sixth straight victory with a 1-0 triumph at Jacksonville University on Sunday afternoon at the Ashley Sports Complex.
The Paladins improved to 6-1-1 on the season and upped their mark away from the friendly confines of Stone Stadium to 4-0-1. The Dolphins dropped to 1-4-1 on the season.
"We were able to grind out two wins on the road this weekend against two tough teams," said Paladin head coach Doug Allison. "Alex and Jacob combined on a nice goal and were able to get Alec another shutout today so it was a good weekend for us."
Crooks, an Alpharetta, Ga., native, got on the end of a Jacob Brown cross at 75:17 to break a scoreless draw with his first goal of the 2011 season. Brown served a cross from his right back position to the far post and Crooks headed a shot back across the face of goal and into the upper corner for the deciding score.
Senior Alec Kann recorded two saves in goal to notch his fourth clean sheet of the campaign. He leads all active Southern Conference goalkeepers with 14 career shutouts and 29 wins.
The Paladins held a 9-5 edge in shots and held the Dolphins without a corner kick while totaling four of their own. Jacksonville was issued four cautions in the match. George Fradenburg picked up the lone yellow card for Furman.
Furman returns home to host Presbyterian College on Friday at Stone Stadium. Kickoff versus the Blue Hose is set for 4 p.m.
Mercer 2, Georgia Southern 0
MACON, Ga. - Georgia Southern Men's Soccer suffered a 2-0 defeat to Mercer on Sunday afternoon at Bear Field. The Eagles fall to 4-2-1 on the year while the Bears improve to 3-3-1 this season. Freshman David Vargas Masís (Cartago, Costa Rica) logged four shots on the day for Georgia Southern.
"We are obviously very disappointed with the result today," said Head Coach Kevin Kennedy. "We squandered some of our chances and Mercer made us pay. We need to regroup and get ready for our SoCon opener on Sunday against Mercer."
Mercer scored its first goal in the 41st minute on a goal from Matt Brazer. The Bear dribbled the ball into the box and slid the shot into the net past Georgia Southern's goalkeeper, Ryan Platt (Preston, England).
The Bears went ahead, 2-0, with a counter attack goal in the 59th minute. Ehjayson Henry scored the goal with a low shot past the keeper.
Georgia Southern was outshot by Mercer at a 13-12 margin. The Eagles logged 10 corner kicks in the match while leading in shots on goal, 6-5.
Next up for Georgia Southern is a run of three-straight home matches. The homestand begins with the 2011 SoCon opener against Davidson on Sunday, September 25th at 2 p.m.