College of Charleston 0, Wofford 0 (2OT)

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston men’s soccer team battled Wofford for 110 minutes to a scoreless tie on a chilly Tuesday night at Patriots Point. The Cougars outshot the Terriers and created a wealth of chances but ultimately left them empty in the 0-0 draw.

With the tie, the Cougars assume the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament. CofC will host sixth-seeded Appalachian State in the opening-round quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 3. The Cougars and Mountaineers kick off from 2 p.m. at Patriots Point.

Both sides appeared tentative in the opening period, which was largely contained in the middle third of the field. The teams grew increasingly more attack-oriented in the second and overtime periods and CofC looked to dictate the pace of play.

CofC keeper Kees Heemskerk made five saves on the net, several of which came in rapid succession immediately after the start of the second half.

First, Nestor Jaramillo would force another save by the Cougar keeper.  Then on the ensuing corner, Heemskerk would save a shot by Connor Davis.  In the 51st minute, Ryan Hurst would try his luck against Heemskerk, but the keeper would get the better of him, making his third save of the second half.

The Cougars would test Terrier goalie Andrew Drennan in the 77th minute but he was be able to save Luke Huggett’s shot.

After the Cougars weathered Wofford’s attack for the first 10 minutes of the second half, they took the upper hand and created several scoring opportunities but to no avail.

Seniors Ralphie Lundy and Sean de Silva evenly accounted for 12 of CofC’s 24 shot attempts on their Senior Night. The Cougars commemorated nine other seniors for the occasion, each of whom have left an indelible mark on the College of Charleston and the men’s soccer program.

The Cougars created a season-high 12 corner kicks but were unable to make constructive use of them, due perhaps to the blustery winds affecting the services into the box.

Drennan earned his fifth shutout and improved to 9-8-1 this season. He recorded three saves on 24 shots faced. Heemskerk also earned his fifth shutout and ended the regular season with an 8-9-1 record.

The Cougars now shift their focus to Saturday’s tournament game against Appalachian State, a rematch of a match CofC claimed, 3-0, at Patriots Point on Oct. 6.

The Terriers return to action Saturday for the first round of the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship when they will travel to Greenville, S.C., to face the Paladins of Furman for the second time in a week. The match is set to kick off at 6 p.m.

The tournament semifinals and championship will be played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., on Nov. 8 and 10, respectively, with the championship game being broadcast on ESPN3.

 

No. 23 Elon 0, Duke 0 (2OT)

ELON, N.C – In its final regular season home match, the Elon men’s soccer team battled Duke to a scoreless draw on Tuesday night at Rudd Field. The 23rd-ranked Phoenix clinched the Southern Conference regular-season championship Tuesday and earned the top seed in the upcoming SoCon Tournament after College of Charleston and Wofford went to a scoreless draw.

The top-seeded Phoenix hosts eighth-seeded Davidson on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.

Elon wrapped up the 2012 regular-season campaign with a 12-4-2 overall record and 5-2 mark in the SoCon to earn its second regular-season championship since beginning Division I play in 1999. It was also the third consecutive draw against the Blue Devils (7-7-2) and extends the Phoenix’s unbeaten streak against ACC schools to five.

Duke controlled possession of the ball in the early portions of the match but could only muster one shot on goal against the Maroon and Gold back four defense in the entire first half. Elon’s Jordan Smith had two header opportunities in the opening stanza, but keeper James Belshaw corralled both.

The start of the second half was more of the same as the Blue Devils started to maneuver through the Phoenix defense to fire three shots in a five-minute stretch. The closest that Duke got to breaking the scoreless drought came on a shot from Zach Mathers that hit the top of the crossbar in the 54th minute.

Elon could not get a clean shot on goal for the rest of the half as attempts by Gabe Latigue in the 70th and 80th minutes were blocked or saved by Belshaw.

Both squads had only one shot in the first extra session with junior Matt Wescoe missing just left of the post in the Phoenix’s lone attempt. Elon would then go into a second overtime for the second consecutive game.

Neither team could find a shot in the final period and would eventually lead to the second tie of the season for both schools.

The Blue Devils held a slight 8-7 advantage on shots overall and prevented Elon from a corner kick. Belshaw had three saves for Duke.

Elon keeper Nathan Dean, who was named the SoCon Player of the Week earlier in the day, added his sixth shutout of the year, tied for third-most in a single-season in school history. The Liverpool, England, native corralled the ball twice for the Phoenix.

Elon is set to defend its 2011 SoCon Tournament title at home beginning on Saturday versus eighth-seeded Davidson at Rudd Field.