Men's Soccer Southern Conference

Saturday's Men's Soccer Roundup

Furman 1, Appalachian State 1 (2OT)

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Appalachian State and Furman each tallied a short-handed goal in the second half before settling for a 1-1 draw in Southern Conference men’s soccer action on Saturday evening at Stone Stadium.

The tie put the Paladins at 9-2-3 overall and 1-1-1 in the SoCon while the Mountaineers moved to 4-6-2 overall and 0-2-1 in league play.

After a scoreless first half in which Furman and Appalachian State combined for just four shots, tempers flared in the opening minutes of the second half.  Martin Ontiveros was shoved off of the ball in the 52nd minute and Coleton Henning attempted a hard tackle near midfield in an attempt to win the ball back. The tackle led to pushing and shoving in front of the Mountaineer bench and Appalachian State’s Alex Herbst and Furman’s Henning were issued red cards.

Less than five minutes later, Appalachian State drew a foul deep on the right side and Harrison Delbridge headed in Luke Adams’ free kick to put the Mountaineers in front 1-0 at 55:54.

Furman turned up the pressure and controlled possession following ASU’s goal and found an equalizer in the 68th minute.  Junior Michael Gandier dribbled to the left side of the midfield and played a give-and-go with Clint Ritter before hammering a shot into the near-side, top shelf for his second goal of the season at 67:37.

The Paladins, who outshot Appalachian State 10-2 after intermission, continued to press for the go ahead goal, but it was the Mountaineers who nearly stole all three points before Gandier cleared a dangerous ball out of the box in the opening minutes of overtime.

Furman got its chance to score a game-winning in the final seconds of double overtime, but Tony Santibanez’s shot from the top of the box missed high.

Doug Ryan recorded two saves on the night for Furman while Danny Free registered seven stops for the Mountaineers.  Furman finished with a 12-4 edge in shots and 8-3 advantage in shots on goal.  The match featured four yellow cards to go with the two second-half red cards.

Furman continues its homestand on Tuesday when it hosts the Davidson Wildcats at Stone Stadium.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Mountaineers return home on Tuesday to play in their final nonconference match of the season as they host Belmont. That match from the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex is slated for 6 p.m.

 

Davidson 3, Wofford 2

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Peter Paras scored a pair of first-half goals and fellow senior Andrew DiLallo added one late in the contest to lead Davidson past Wofford, 3-2, in Southern Conference men’s soccer action Saturday night at Snyder Field.

With the win, the Wildcats improved to 6-6-1 overall and 2-2-0 in league play, while the Terriers fell to 8-5-0 and 2-1-0.

Just 7:29 into the match, Drew Brown played a centering pass to Paras, who struck a shot that hit off the right post and into the goal to give Davidson the early 1-0 lead.

Paras, who entered with just three scores for his career, made it a two-goal advantage in the 20th minute, when the tri-captain found the back of the net off a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.

Exactly a minute after Paras’ second goal of the contest, Wofford’s Forrest Lasso headed in a long throw-in from Billy Padula to make it 2-1.

DiLallo scored the eventual game-winner in the 70th minute when he put away a CJ Tikvart free kick that caromed off the crossbar.

Trailing 3-1 with less than 15 minutes to play, Wofford answered DiLallo’s fourth strike of the season with a goal from Chase West to cut the deficit back to one, 3-2.

The Terriers finished with a 12-10 edge in shots, while both teams attempted three corner kicks.

Keeper Andrew Drennan took the loss for Wofford and fell to 8-5-0 this season.  He recorded three saves.  Matt Pacifici earned the win for Davidson and improved to 6-6-1 for the year.  He made two saves.

Davidson will continue its six-game road trip to conclude the regular season Tuesday evening at Furman at 7 p.m. The Terriers return to the pitch Wednesday when they travel to Columbia, S.C., to face the Gamecocks of South Carolina.  The match is set to kick off at 7 p.m.

 

No. 2 North Carolina 3, College of Charleston 0

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston men’s soccer team was downed by No. 2 North Carolina in front of 2,055 fans at Patriots Point on Saturday evening. The Cougars possessed well but struggled to get behind the nation’s best defense in the 3-0 result as the Tar Heels’ Rob Lovejoy notched the hat trick.

CofC (6-8-0) proved its ability to maintain possession but could not find space in the attacking end and saw its runs cut out. The Tar Heels are the eighth team CofC has played which was either ranked or receiving votes in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Coaches Poll.

CofC keeper Kees Heemskerk made five saves for the Cougars.

Lovejoy picked up a hat trick as he netted all three of the Tar Heel goals in his first match of the season after undergoing surgery.

The Cougars managed six shot attempts with Ralphie Lundy and Troy Peterson each registering two.

The Cougars did create chances, especially in the second half, with a couple shots eking inches wide, allowing the Tar Heels to register their 10th shutout of the season. Five of CofC’s six shots were taken in the second period.

The Cougars kept them off the board for most of the first half until UNC forced a flurry of four consecutive corner kicks late in the period. On the fourth attempt, the ball rattled around beneath a swarm of players in the box and Loveyjoy was able to stuff it into the net from the right post.

Moments later, Lovejoy brought the ball into the right side of the box on a run parallel to the goal line and fired a low shot out of the reach of Heemskerk for the 2-0 lead.

Lovejoy iced the game and finished off the hat trick in the 83rd minute after a bouncing ball found its way into the box and CofC misplayed it, which allowed Lovejoy to sneak it into the net from six yards away.

The Cougars return to SoCon play with a road tilt at league-leading Elon on Tuesday. The teams will be vying for first place and kick off at 7 p.m.