Elon 1, No. 13 Wake Forest 0

ELON, N.C. – Chris Thomas scored his 50th career goal as the Elon men’s soccer team posted its fifth shutout of the season in a 1-0 win against Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest on Tuesday night at Rudd Field.

The No. 13 Demon Deacons (9-3-4) became the third ranked team to fall and be shut out at home for the Phoenix this season. Elon (11-4-1) has now posted shutouts in three of its past four matches against ACC opponents, including two straight against the Demon Deacons. The Phoenix also improved to 4-1 on the year against ranked competition.

Thomas earned his milestone goal in the 16th minute on a penalty kick after Wake Forest was called for a foul in the box. Thomas pushed the ball past keeper Andrew Harris and found the back left corner, extending his all-time Elon goals mark for a career. It was also the 20th score of the 2012 campaign for the Snellville, Ga., native, increasing his single-season school mark in that category.

Thomas is now three points away from tying Mike Wessels’ all-time program mark for total points scored. Wessels had 113 points from 1985-88 while Thomas currently sits with 110.

Much like in Elon’s 1-0 win at Appalachian State this past Saturday, the Phoenix played the majority of the second half on its heels with the back six and keeper Nathan Dean constantly put under pressure. The Demon Deacons held a 4-1 advantage on corners in the second half but could never convert the equalizer.

Thomas nearly put the Phoenix ahead 2-0 in the 57th minute after working his way in near the Wake 18-yard mark, but his bending right-to-left strike ricocheted off the right post.

Dean made a couple of great stops between the posts as the Liverpool, England, native added his fifth shutout of the season, placing him in a tie for sixth all-time in a single-season in school history.

Michael Gamble had four shots to lead Wake Forest, with four other teammates contributing two shots apiece. Harris had one save in 90 minutes between the posts for the Demon Deacons.

Elon will jump back into Southern Conference action on Saturday in its league regular-season finale at UNCG. That match is schedule to begin at 7 p.m.

 

Furman 2, Georgia Southern 1

STATESBORO, Ga. – Sophomore Clint Ritter scored on a 20-yard shot with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation to lift Furman to a 2-1 victory over Georgia Southern in Southern Conference men’s soccer action on Tuesday night at Eagle Field.

With the victory, Furman upped its overall record to 11-3-3 and improved to 3-2-1 in the SoCon.  Georgia Southern dropped to 4-11-1 overall and 2-3-1 in league play.

Furman, with the match knotted at 1-1 and just over seven minutes left to play in regulation, earned a corner kick.  Martin Ontiveros served the set piece into the box and an Eagle defender attempted to clear the ball, but the clearance bounced to Ritter, who volleyed a 20-yard effort into the upper right corner at 82:56.  The match-winner marked Ritter’s second goal of the campaign.

The Paladins had taken the first-half lead in the 19th minute despite GSU opening the match with six straight shot attempts and forcing Furman’s Sven Lissek into a pair of saves.  Danny Hojaij sent in a corner that was cleared to Ontiveros.  The Pharr, Texas, native volleyed the ball toward the top of the six-yard box, where senior Coleton Henning headed it past Eagle goalkeeper Neal Bates for his sixth goal of the season at the 18:32 mark.

Rocco Bagley leveled the score at 1-1 in the 30th minute with a diving header at the back post of a Nick Lane cross. The cross caught the Furman keeper out of position, allowing Bagley to score the equalizer with 15 minutes remaining in the first half.

Furman forced Bates into three second-half saves before Ritter’s game-winner, and the Eagle defense had to save an Amadu Ndiaye header off of the line in the 68th minute.

Lissek, a freshman from Germany, was credited with two of his five saves on the night in the final 15 minutes to preserve the victory and earn his first collegiate win in goal.  Bates stopped six shots in the loss for GSU.

The Paladins finished with a 16-15 edge in total shots and 9-6 advantage in shots on goal.  Furman earned seven corner kicks and netted both of its goals as a result of set pieces.  Georgia Southern earned six corner kicks.

Furman concludes its regular season on Saturday night when it visits Spartanburg, S.C., and Snyder Field to face the Wofford Terriers.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Georgia Southern closes the 2012 regular season on Saturday evening at College of Charleston. The match from the Patriots Point Soccer Stadium starts at 7 p.m.

 

Appalachian State 2, Wofford 1

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Sophomore midfielder Kristian Lee-Him netted the game-winner in the 70^th minute as Appalachian State’s men’s soccer team captured its first Southern Conference victory of the season, defeating Wofford 2-1 Tuesday night at Snyder Field.

With the victory, the Mountaineers improved to 6-7-3 on the season and 1-3-2 in the SoCon, while Wofford dropped to 9-7 and 2-3 in league play.

Appalachian got on the scoreboard first in the 26th minute as sophomore Luke Adams sent in a free kick to the back post. Junior defender Harrison Delbridge, who came up from the back line, flicked a shot past Wofford goalkeeper Andrew Drennan. For Delbridge, the opening goal was his second of the season.

While it looked as if the Mountaineers would take the lead into halftime, the Terriers struck with just 20 seconds left in the opening half. Alex Hutchins, who leads Wofford in goals, tapped in a shot past App State goalkeeper Danny Free for his 11th goal of the year. Nestor Jaramillo and Forrest Lasso were credited with the assists.

After an aggressive start to the second half that saw two yellow cards and nine fouls in the opening 11 minutes, Lee-Him received a pass from freshman Alex Herbst and fired in the clinching goal in the 70th minute. For Lee-Him, it was his second goal of the season and his second game-winner after scoring the game-winning goal against Richmond earlier this season.

The back line solidified the victory in the final 20 minutes, limiting Wofford to just two shots for the rest of the match.

The Mountaineers outshot the Terriers 7-6 as senior Joshiah Trower lead the team with two. Free made three saves as Wofford managed just four shots on goal for the night.

Drennan made one save against seven shots for the Terriers.

Appalachian State returns to the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex on Saturday for Senior Day and the regular-season finale against Davidson. Kickoff against the Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. Wofford returns to action Saturday to host the Furman Paladins in the team’s home finale. The Senior Day match is set to kick off at 7 p.m.

 

Duke 2, Davidson 0

DURHAM, N.C. – Despite being outshot by Davidson, Duke made the most of its scoring opportunities with an early goal in each half to get by the Wildcats, 2-0, in nonconference men’s soccer action Tuesday evening at Koskinen Stadium.

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 6-9-1 overall, while the Blue Devils improved to 6-7-1.

Not long after Davidson’s Peter Paras hit the crossbar on the game’s first shot, Jack Coleman gave Duke the early 1-0 lead in the eighth minute with his first goal of the 2012 campaign.

The Wildcats started the second half fast with a pair attempts from Paras but were unable to get the much-needed equalizer.

The Blue Devils made it a two-goal contest at the 52:54 mark when Zach Mathers’ centering pass set up an open net for Will Donovan.

Paras led the Wildcats with a game-high six shots, including three on goal. Brian McGue, Chris Pettiglio and Ryan Malden also put shots on frame for Davidson.

The Wildcats finished with a 9-8 advantage in shots.

James Belshaw turned away all six Davidson shots on goal to lead both keepers in saves.

Davidson will conclude its regular season and conference slate Saturday evening with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Appalachian State.