UNCG
4, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON,
N.C. – UNCG senior forward Hakan Ilhan tied a single-game program record with
four assists leading the Spartans to a 4-0 victory over Davidson in the
Southern Conference opener Tuesday night at the Alumni Soccer Stadium.
The Spartans tallied four first-half goals, including three in a
seven-minute stretch, to snap Davidson’s four-game winning streak.
Ilhan dished out assists on all four goals in the victory, tying the
program record held by Mike Sweeney, who accomplished the feat against
Christopher Newport on Sept. 13, 1981. The four assists are also a program record
for the Spartans during the NCAA Division I era.
The Spartans weathered three early shots from Davidson before settling in
and striking for the first goal in all of SoCon action in the seventh minute.
UNCG sent the ball to the top of the 18-yard box, where Ilhan was able to bring
the ball down in between three Davidson defenders and touched a perfect pass
across the top of the box.
Freshman midfielder Lukas Zarges took the soft pass and ripped a
right-footed shot that bent around Davidson goalkeeper Matt Pacifici into the
back of the net for the early 1-0 lead. The goal was the second of the season
for Zarges, while Ilhan picked up his second helper of the year.
UNCG turned in another prime chance in the 11th minute of action as
Zarges and Ilhan connected once again. This time Zarges sent a long diagonal
pass that found Ilhan behind the Davidson backline. Ilhan went one-on-one
against Pacifici and beat the goalkeeper low, but the ball skidded just outside
the far post to keep it a one-goal contest.
The Spartans kept the pressure on Davidson as they piled on three goals
in a seven-minute stretch (26:27-33:27) to extend the lead to 4-0 just 34
minutes into the contest. Zarges obtained possession in the midfield and made a
run down the middle of the field before sending a long diagonal pass to the top
of the 18-yard box. Ilhan occupied a couple of Davidson defenders and touch the
ball to sophomore Austin Miller, who was in behind the defense and beat
Pacifici low for his first goal of the season.
UNCG’s offensive attack kept rolling in in the 31st minute as Ilhan and
junior Brian Graham combined for the Spartans’ third goal of the night. Graham
and Ilhan produced a give-and-go with Ilhan going wide and sending the pass
back across the six-yard box, where Graham easily deposited it in the back of
the net for his first of the season.
The Spartans’ first half offensive explosion concluded in the 34th minute
of play. Redshirt sophomore Justin Jones took a long throw-in into the box that
Ilhan flicked from the front post to the back post, where junior Oddur
Gudmundsson one-touched it into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the
season and a 4-0 lead.
Davidson had it best chance for a goal in the 55th minute of action as
Andrew DiLallo found some space inside the 18-yard box. DiLallo ripped a shot
from 12-yards out, but fifth-year senior goalkeeper Peyton Ford made a diving
stab to keep the Spartans’ slate clean.
Ford finished the night with four saves, posting his first shutout of the
season and the Spartans’ second of the year. Pacifici was charged with four
goals in 63:09 while making two saves for the Wildcats. UNCG improved to 3-4-2
overall with the victory while the Wildcats fell to 4-3-1 on the year.
The Spartans return home to the UNCG Soccer Stadium for their first of
four straight home games Saturday night as UNCG hosts Appalachian State in
SoCon play at 7 p.m.
Elon
1, Radford 1 (2OT)
ELON,
N.C. – Chris Thomas added the 41st goal of his career as the Elon Phoenix and
Radford Highlanders battled to a 1-1 draw in nonconference action on Tuesday
night at Rudd Field.
The draw marks the first of the season for Elon (5-2-1) while Radford
(3-2-3) added its third of the 2012 campaign.
The Maroon and Gold were very aggressive in the first half of action with
a 7-3 shot advantage, but the teams went into the half scoreless.
Thomas, who was named the Southern Conference’s Player of the Week for
the second time this season earlier in the day, helped Elon get on the board on
a penalty kick in the 49th minute. Thomas was able to maneuver a strike past
Highlander keeper Ryan Taylor to add his 11th score of the season.
Radford continued to compete and was able to add the equalizer late in
regulation as Bernardo Ulmo scored off a penalty kick to push the match even at
1 apiece in the 87th minute.
In the first overtime session, RU had its best chance to win the match
when Ulmo fired a shot within the box in the 93rd minute, but keeper Nathan
Dean was able corral the ball as both teams went into another 10-minute period.
The final period was otherwise quiet with the teams combining for one
attempt, as neither squad could get into position the score the go-ahead goal.
Dean played all 110 minutes between the posts and had four saves. Elon
ended the game with a 16-13 shot advantage over the Highlanders, including
seven shots on target.
The Phoenix opens SoCon play on Friday at Davidson with kickoff slated to
begin at 7 p.m.
No.
6 North Carolina 1, Wofford 0 (2OT)
CHAPEL
HILL, N.C. – Wofford’s men’s soccer team fell to the sixth-ranked
Tar Heels of North Carolina 1-0 in double overtime Tuesday at North Carolina.
Wofford fell to 5-4-0 for the season and North Carolina improved to
6-1-1.
The Tar Heels scored the game winner in the 103rd minute despite playing
the final 87 minutes with only 10 men. Cameron Brown fired a shot that was
saved by Terrier goalie Andrew Drennan, but teammate Mikey Lopez was waiting to
slot the rebound past Drennan to win the game.
The game was the Terriers’ second one-goal loss to a ranked team this
season.
After 45 minutes of play, Wofford found itself in a 0-0 tie with the No.
6 team in the nation. Neither team was able to create much offense, with only
five shots between both teams. The biggest event of the first half was when
North Carolina went a man down after forward Andy Craven made a reckless tackle
in the 16th minute. At the break, North Carolina held the edge in shots (3-2)
and corners (3-2) despite having only 10 men, but neither team had found the
back of the net.
The second half was similar to the first with neither team able to make a
breakthrough. North Carolina controlled the game, as it outshot the Terriers
(6-1) and took more corners (2-0), but was unable to beat Drennan. Regulation
would end with both teams tied at zero.
The first overtime period saw the Tar Heels take two shots and the
Terriers one. However, neither goalie was tested as no saves were made. North
Carolina would take one corner, but the game would head to a second overtime
still tied.
Drennan took the loss for the Terriers and dropped to 5-4 on the year. He
made five saves on 14 shots faced. Scott Goodwin earned the win for North
Carolina and improved to 6-1-1 this season. He made one save on four shots.
The Terriers return to the pitch Saturday when they travel to face the
Flames of Liberty. The match is set to kick off at 2 p.m.
No.
16 Wake Forest 4, Appalachian State 0
WINSTON-SALEM,
N.C. – Appalachian State’s men's soccer team was unable to keep up with the
attack off ACC opponent Wake Forest, falling 4-0 to the 16th-ranked
Demon Deacons on Tuesday night at W. Dennie Spry Stadium.
With the loss, the Mountaineers fell to 4-3-1 on the season before
opening conference play on Saturday. The Demon Deacons improved to 5-1-3
overall.
Junior goalkeeper Danny Free matched his career high in saves for a match
with eight on the night, stopping seven shots in the opening half. The Demon
Decons totaled 20 shots for the match.
Wake Forest got on the scoreboard in the 26th minute when forward Michael
Gamble fired a shot off the crossbar, and Sean Okoli found the ball at his feet
behind Free and netted the rebound for his third goal of the season.
Wake Forest found the back of the net once again in the 37th minute when
the Apps turned the ball over in the defensive third and Deacon midfielder
Jared Watts fired the ball past Free for his first goal of the season.
The Demon Deacons controlled the first half, tallying seven shots on goal
and 15 total. Appalachian could only manage just two shots, none troubling
goalkeeper Michael Lisch.
The Deacons picked up where they left off in the second half as freshman
Collin Martin recorded the first collegiate goal of his career in the 50th
minute. Martin dribbled past Free in the App State box and scored Wake's third
goal of the match.
Wake Forest added its final goal of the match when Jake Schemper received
a cross from Teddy Mullin and beat Free for his first goal of the season.
Seniors David Dodge and Nate Latigue had the only shots on goal for the
night as the Mountaineers fired five shots for the match.
The Apps will return to the field to open Southern Conference play on
Saturday when they travel to UNCG. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
No.
17 Coastal Carolina 3, College of Charleston 1
CONWAY,
S.C. – The College of Charleston men’s soccer team was downed 3-1 at No. 17
Coastal Carolina at the CCU Soccer Complex on Tuesday evening.
CofC, now 4-5-0, was outshot for only the third time on the season and
was pegged with the loss after falling behind 3-0 in the early stages. The
Cougars would take one goal back before halftime but the comeback effort would
be thwarted as the second half yielded no goals.
The Chanticleers came out with an electric first half in which they
outshot the Cougars, 12-3, and produced three corner-kick opportunities without
surrendering one to CofC.
CCU opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Tevin Skyers was able to
chip the ball home from seven yards away.
Just over two minutes later, the Chants padded their lead when Henrik
Robstad found enough space to pull off a shot from the left flank and drove the
ball home from 16 yards away.
CCU further insured its lead in the 42nd minute when Justin Portillo sent
a free kick into the box, where Pedro Rebeiro slowed it down for Uzo Uchenna,
who managed to score from just three yards away.
The Cougars narrowed the deficit just over a minute later when Sam
Redmond played a through ball to Luke Huggett, who scored from five yards away
to cut the score to 3-1.
The Cougars had a better showing in an extremely physical and choppy
second half but were unable to find the net and ultimately suffered the loss.
CofC will have short time to recover from the loss as it must prepare to
host No. 1 Maryland on Saturday at Patriots Point. The Cougars and Terrapins
will kick off at 7 p.m.