Davidson 4, USC Upstate 3 (OT)

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Brian McGue’s 94th-minute penalty kick lifted Davidson to a 4-3 victory over USC Upstate in the final game of the ninth annual Davidson adidas Classic Monday evening at Alumni Stadium.

McGue’s golden goal came after a Spartan was whistled for a handball in the box three minutes and 22 seconds into overtime.

In the 22nd minute, Davidson (2-2-1) took a 1-0 lead when a sliding Andrew DiLallo just got a foot on a long centering pass from Peter Paras and redirected it past Spartan keeper Dani Alvarado.

Less than six minutes after DiLallo’s team-leading third goal of the 2012 season, USC Upstate’s Dylan Hoop provided an equalizer with a header off a Dave Musambi cross.

Early in the second half, Valeriy Sviderskiy gave the Wildcats a 3-1 lead with a pair of strikes less than three minutes apart. Shortly after the freshman put away a chipped through ball from Drew Brown, Sviderskiy tracked down his own one-on-one that Alvarado was unable to gather and slid a shot past two defenders inside the far post.

The Spartans’ John Kadane cut the deficit back to one, 3-2, with a goal in the 60th minute off of a blocked shot following an Upstate corner kick.

After threatening a number of times in the second half, USC Upstate (2-2-1) tied the game, 3-3, on a Musambi left-footed shot that curled in from the nearside corner.

With just under a minute left in regulation, Davidson keeper Matt Pacifici turned away two Spartan scoring opportunities to send the game into overtime.

The Spartans finished with a 17-14 edge in shots, while the Wildcats attempted one more corner. Pacifici led both keepers with seven saves.

Davidson will wrap up its three-game homestand Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest against East Tennessee State.

2012 Davidson adidas Classic All-Tournament Team: Brian McGue (Davidson) Andrew DiLallo (Davidson) Valeriy Sviderskiy (Davidson) John Pace (Davidson) Patrick Harrow (Appalachian State) Kristian Lee-Him (Appalachian State) Lee Williams (Appalachian State) Dave Musambi (USC Upstate) Dylan Hoop (USC Upstate) Mitch Reavis (Richmond) Michael Forsyth (Richmond).

 

Appalachian State 1, Richmond 0

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Sophomore Kristian Lee-Him scored a 90th-minute goal for the Mountaineers as Appalachian State’s men’s soccer defeated Richmond 1-0 on the final day of the Davidson adidas Classic at Davidson’s Alumni Stadium on Monday.

After a scoreless 89 minutes, Lee-Him got behind the back line and received a cross from sophomore Sekani Sinclair. Lee-Him fed the ball past Richmond goalkeeper Chris Grover with 30 seconds left on the clock for his first career goal.

With the victory, Appalachian improved to 3-1-1, as the Spiders fell to 1-3-1.

The Mountaineers were threatening all match long, outshooting Richmond 21-7. Six of the Apps’ shots were on goal. Sophomore Stanley Broaden put two shots on goal, while four other Apps each recorded one.

Sophomore Paul West got his first victory of the season and second shutout of his career, making two saves and leading the defense, which recorded its fourth shutout in five matches.

Lee-Him, Patrick Harrow and Lee Williams earned spots on the all-tournament team.

The Black and Gold will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Wilmington, N.C., to compete in the UNCW Hilton Garden Inn Classic. The Apps will face Binghamton in the opening match at 5 p.m. and Saint Mary’s two days later at 11:30 a.m.

 

Mercer 1, Georgia Southern 0

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern’s offense came up dry on Monday afternoon against Mercer with the visiting Bears taking a 1-0 win over the Eagles. GSU outshot Mercer 17-10, but the Bears’ crossing attack broke through the stout Eagle defense in the 78th minute with a goal.

The Eagles travel to face Georgia State on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.

Mercer’s decision to attack down the flanks paid off in the 78th minute as Richie Edmonson got on the end of a Cari-Oscar Anderson cross inside the six-yard box for the first goal of the afternoon. His second goal of the season gave the Bears a 1-0 lead with just over 12 minutes to play

The Eagles poured attackers forward in the final minutes, linking up for some of the best scoring chances of the afternoon.

Ultimately, Georgia Southern was unable to score the equalizer and fell to 2-3-0 on the year. Mercer improved to 3-2-1 in 2012.

GSU goalkeeper Jack Falle made four saves in the match against 10 total Mercer shots.

Georgia Southern is on the road for the next month, returning home to face Elon on Oct. 12 at Eagle Field. Southern travels to face Georgia State at 4 p.m. Friday in Atlanta.