Davidson 2, East Tennessee State 1 (2OT)

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Peter Paras scored off a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box in the 102nd minute to lead Davidson to 2-1 win over East Tennessee State in nonconference men’s soccer action Saturday evening at Alumni Stadium.

Playing a man down since the 86th minute, the Wildcats were awarded the game-winning opportunity after ETSU’s Blaike Woodruff was issued a yellow card.

Winners of three straight, Davidson improved to 3-2-1 while the Buccaneers, who entered on a four-game streak, fell to 4-2-0 on the season.

Just 15 minutes into the contest, David Geno scored his fourth goal of the season and put ETSU up 1-0 off a through ball from Franck Doumbe.

Coming off a two-goal performance on Monday evening, the Wildcats’ Valeriy Sviderskiy tied the score in the 80th minute when the freshman put away a long Coleman O’Neill free kick that was flicked on by Andrew DiLallo.

Shortly after Sviderskiy’s third goal of the season, Davidson junior defender Ryan Malden was issued his second caution of the contest, which resulted in a red card.

In addition to a 21-13 advantage in shots, ETSU finished with a 10-6 edge in corner kicks.

Matt Pacifici came up with another impressive performance with a career-high 10 saves for the Wildcats.

Davidson will travel to No. 1 North Carolina for a 7 p.m. contest Tuesday. A year ago, the Wildcats knocked off then- No. 2 UNC 1-0 at Alumni Stadium.

 

UNCG 1, No. 4 Charlotte 1 (2OT)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men’s soccer team went toe-to-toe with reigning NCAA tournament finalist and current fourth-ranked Charlotte on Saturday night as the Spartans recorded a hard-fought 1-1 tie in double overtime at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. Senior forward Hakan Ilhan scored the game-tying goal for the Spartans in the 20th minute of play as UNCG rallied from an early deficit.

Charlotte took the early lead in the 11th minute of action. The 49ers had pressure on the Spartans off a free kick and after the initial clear, Giuseppe Gentile sent a cross back into the box. Nick Barnhorst made a run across the top of the six-yard box and flicked the ball past UNCG goalkeeper Peyton Ford for the 1-0 lead.

The Spartans weathered the early push from the 49ers and struck back in the 20th minute of action. Defender Jake Fields stepped up on the play and sent a long cross into the box. Ilhan beat the defender to the ball and drilled a header into the side netting for his team-leading fifth goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.

UNCG had a golden chance in the 51st minute as it put sustained pressure on the 49ers’ defense. Justin Jones sent a long throw-in into the box, and senior defender Jonathan Leonard drilled a header toward goal. Charlotte goalkeeper Klay Davis made a diving stab, however, keeping it out of the goal and keeping the game tied.

Charlotte responded with a prime scoring chance of its own in the 55th minute of play off of a corner kick. The 49ers sent the ball to the back post, where Biko Bradnock-Brennan got a head on the shot and sent it toward the opposite post. Leonard held his position on the post and cleared the would-be goal off the line to keep the game deadlocked at 1-1.

The teams went back-and-forth down the stretch of the second half with neither team finding the go-ahead goal. The Spartans had the first chance in the overtime periods as Michael Holzer ripped a shot from 22 yards out off of a clearing attempt from a corner kick that sailed just inches wide of the goal post.

Charlotte had its best chance in extra time in the 102nd minute of play. Gentile found some space and got his head on a cross, but Ford stepped up big with another save to preserve the tie for UNCG. The Spartans had the game’s final dangerous chance in the 105th minute as Holzer sent a long cross to the back post. Freshman Jannick Martens sent the ball back across the mouth of the goal, but it sailed just wide of the post.

UNCG finished the night with a 14-11 advantage in shots, including a 9-3 edge in the second half of play. The Spartans withstood a 10-3 edge in corner kicks by the 49ers as Ford posted four saves for UNCG to preserve the point in the standings.

The Spartans return to action Tuesday as they travel to Durham, N.C., to face Atlantic Coast Conference foe Duke at 7 p.m.