Elon 1, No. 22 Furman 0 (OT)

ELON, N.C. – Chris Thomas notched his sixth game-winner of the season with a penalty kick golden goal in the 92nd minute to give Elon (8-2-1, 2-0 Southern Conference) a 1-0 win over the No. 22 Furman Paladins (8-2-1, 1-1 SoCon) at Rudd Field on Saturday night.

Thomas added his 16th strike of the year after drawing a foul on the Paladins in the opening minutes of the extra session. Thomas obtained position in the box after a Gabe Latigue cross, forcing the defender to grab the nation’s leading scorer and leading to the penalty kick.

The Snellville, Ga., native was able to maneuver the ball around Furman keeper Doug Ryan, giving Elon its eighth win in 10 matches and extending its unbeaten streak to six games. It was also Thomas’ second golden goal of the season.

The Paladins’ loss snapped their eight-match unbeaten streak.

The Maroon and Gold defense and keeper Nathan Dean had their third shutout of the 2012 campaign despite Furman’s 7-2 advantage on corner kicks and a 8-6 mark on shots overall. The last time Furman was held scoreless came in its season-opening 2-0 defeat against Wake Forest on Aug. 18.

Dean played every minute between the posts and had three saves on the match.

Elon has now won its past two matches against the Paladins going back to last year’s upset of then 16th-ranked Furman in the SoCon Tournament.

Furman’s Coleton Henning and Tyler Peoples each had two shots to pace the Paladins. Ryan also played every minute and corralled one save.

The Elon win came on a night in which the program was celebrating its 40th anniversary as many former members of the squad were recognized at halftime.

Elon will host Wofford on Tuesday at Rudd Field with kickoff slated at 7 p.m. Furman returns home for its final nonconference match of the 2012 season on Tuesday when the Paladins host Clemson at 7 p.m.

 

College of Charleston 3, Appalachian State 0

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston men’s soccer team beat Appalachian State, 3-0, behind two goals and an assist from senior midfielder Sean de Silva at Patriots Point on Saturday evening.

CofC (5-7-0, 1-1-0 SoCon) controlled the pace of play and produced a 17-14 shot advantage and put seven shots on the target. With the loss, the Mountaineers dropped to 4-6-1 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

CofC opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Troy Peterson kept a ball inside the touch line at the bottom-right corner of the box. Peterson sent an arching cross into the center of the box, where de Silva headed it home from six yards away.

The teams could not find much offense for the remaining 30 minutes of the half as Appalachian State senior Nate Latigue recorded the only shot on goal after de Silva broke the 0-0 deadlock. At halftime, CofC was outshooting the Mountaineers 8-7.

The Cougars insured their lead early in the second half when de Silva threaded a ball between two defenders at the top of the box to Luke Huggett, who blasted it into the bottom-right corner of the net.

CofC put the match further out of reach in the 89th minute with some clever passing between de Silva and Francis Twohig. De Silva entered the top of the box with the ball and left it for Twohig, who touched it right back to de Silva to execute the give-and-go. De Silva took the keeper to the ground with a juke then casually chipped it into the back of the net for his team-high fourth goal of the year.

Huggett and de Silva accounted for 11 of CofC’s 17 shots on the night.

Cougar keeper Kees Heemskerk organized his defense well and made two saves for the Cougars for his third shutout of the season.

Latigue and sophomore forward Stanley Broaden were the only Mountaineer attackers to trouble Heemskerk on the night. The Mountaineers fired 14 shots but just two shots on goal.

In goal, Danny Free stopped four College of Charleston shots.

The Cougars return to action with a midweek road contest at UNCG on Tuesday. CofC then returns home to host No. 6 North Carolina on Saturday. The Mountaineers return home after being away from the High Country for over a month on Tuesday when they host Georgia Southern. Kickoff from the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex is set for 6 p.m.

 

Wofford 1, UNCG 0 (2OT)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Wofford’s men’s soccer team defeated the Spartans of UNCG 1-0 in double-overtime Saturday night as Blair Gaines scored with less than a minute to play to lead the Terriers to victory in their Southern Conference opener.

Wofford (7-4-0, 1-0-0 SoCon) outshot the Spartans in the overtime periods 7-2 and was finally able to find the back of the Spartans’ net with just less than one minute left in the second overtime. Gaines scored on a header off a cross by Nestor Jaramillo from six yards out to win the game for the Terriers.

UNCG controlled the majority of the first half as it outshot the Terriers 6-4 and held the edge in corners, 3-0. The Spartans’ best scoring chance came in the 27th minute when Nathan Bunch sent a header toward goal off a corner, but a Terrier defender was able to clear the ball away.

Wofford would respond by creating a few scoring chances, but none of them were on target to test Spartan keeper Peyton Ford.

UNCG (4-6-2, 2-1-0 SoCon) had another prime scoring chance in the final minute of the first half as Hakam Ilhan was pulled down 20 yards out. Ilhan stepped up to the free kick and ripped a bending shot that just cleared the crossbar, sending the teams into halftime in a scoreless tie.

In the second half, Wofford was the team in command as it tested Ford several times. In the 55th minute, Ford was able to save Benny Puetter’s shot and Forrest Lasso’s header off a corner just 30 seconds later.  Wofford would threaten again in the 70th minute, but Spartan defender Mahdi Ali was able to block another shot by Lasso on the line.  Regulation would end with both teams still tied 0-0.

Overall, Wofford held the edge in shots (14-12) and UNCG in corners taken (6-2).

Andrew Drennan earned the shutout win for the Terriers and improved to 7-4-0 this season.  He recorded three saves on 14 shots. Ford took the loss for UNCG.  He made four saves on 21 shots faced.

The Terriers return to the pitch Tuesday when they travel to face the Phoenix of Elon.  The match is set to kick off at 7 p.m. UNCG continues play Tuesday evening as it hosts the College of Charleston. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

 

Davidson 2, Georgia Southern 1

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Luke Blades curled a free kick in from just outside the box in the 89th minute to lift Davidson over Georgia Southern, 2-1, in Southern Conference men’s soccer action on Homecoming Saturday at Alumni Stadium.

With time ticking down in regulation, the Wildcats earned a free kick on the far side after an Eagle foul. Blades lined up and drilled a bending ball into the box. The Eagles’ keeper came out to punch it away and instead it went through his hands and slipped into the left corner of the net for the game-winner.

David Vargas Masis put Georgia Southern (2-9-0, 0-1-0 SoCon) on the board midway through the opening half with a lofted shot that curled just over the head of Wildcat keeper Matt Pacifici and inside the far post. Drew Ruggles set up Masis’ 27^th-minute goal and second of the season.

Davidson (5-5-1, 1-2-0 SoCon) ended a 327-minute scoreless drought and tied the game on Ryan Malden’s first career strike, a header off a Peter Paras corner kick.

Both teams finished with 13 shots, while Georgia Southern held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.

Prior to the contest, seniors Andrew DiLallo, Brian McGue and Peter Paras were honored for their contributions both on and off the field.

In addition to Senior Day festivities, the 1992 Final Four team was recognized and presented their College Cup rings at halftime.

Davidson will conclude its regular season with six straight contests on the road, including dates at North Carolina on Tuesday and Duke on Oct. 23. Georgia Southern returns to action at Appalachian State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.