Davidson 2, Richmond 1

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Jake Keator set up both Davidson goals, including Alec Rotunda’s first career and eventual game-winner, as the Wildcats held off Richmond, 2-1, on the opening day of the adidas Classic Saturday evening at Alumni Stadium.

An all-conference performer a year ago, Brian McGue gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute off of a feed from fellow midfielder Keator. McGue’s blast from just outside the 18-yard box came following a Davidson corner kick that the Spiders were unable to clear.

The Wildcats held a commanding 19-2 advantage in shots in the first 45 minutes of action.

Keator added another assist with just over 11 minutes to play when he played a long pass down the sideline to Rotunda, who broke down a Spider defender and ripped a shot inside the far post.

Not long after Rotunda’s first career strike, Richmond’s Shane Powell cut the deficit back to one when he found the back of the net from just outside the 6-yard box.

The Wildcats outshot the Spiders 23-7 and finished with a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Both keepers concluded the contest with five saves.

The opening game between USC Upstate and Appalachian State was delayed almost an hour and 20 minutes due to lightning. The teams played to a scoreless draw.

Davidson will conclude the annual event with a 7 p.m. contest against USC Upstate on Monday evening at Alumni Stadium.

 

Appalachian State 0, USC Upstate 0 (2OT)

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Appalachian State University men’s soccer recorded its first draw of the season  as the Mountaineers found themselves in a double-overtime deadlock with USC Upstate, settling for a 0-0 draw Saturday evening at Davidson’s Alumni Stadium.

With the draw, the Apps moved to 2-1-1, as the Spartans matched App State’s record, also going to 2-1-1.

Junior goalkeeper Danny Free was tested all match, saving five Upstate shots for the match. The Mountaineers could only manage two shots on goal as senior Lee Williams and sophomore Sekani Sinclair both troubled Spartan goalkeeper Dani Alvarado.

This is the first draw Appalachian has recorded since last season when the Apps closed out a scoreless match with conference foe Furman on Oct. 22, 2011.

The Mountaineers outshot the Spartans 17-9, winning the shot total in each half and both overtime periods. ASU tallied seven shots in the opening period, compared to USC Upstate’s three.

The Apps will be back in action in the final day of the Davidson adidas Classic on Monday when the Black and Gold takes on Richmond. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. from Alumni Stadium.

 

North Florida 4, Georgia Southern 3

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern men’s soccer team scored twice in the final seven minutes, but it wasn’t enough as North Florida bested the Eagles, 4-3 on Saturday. GSU fell to 2-2 on the year as the Ospreys improved to 3-2 for 2012.

Trailing 3-1 late, the Eagles opened a manic finish when Joe Hughes scored his second goal of the afternoon in the 83rd minute. Hughes took advantage of a UNF mistake on the back line, winning the ball at the top of the box and taking a quick shot that found the net.

Georgia Southern continued to press forward looking for the equalizer, but that would allow UNF to take a 4-2 lead as Oscar Castillo played the ball to Camilo Garcia, who scored the goal in the 87th minute from short range.

Southern cut the lead to 4-3 in the 88th minute when Reed Norton recorded his third goal of the season. Norton won the ball off a defender deep in the UNF penalty area and scored on a shot from near the penalty spot.

GSU was unable to find the equalizer in the final two minutes, finishing the match with 28 total shots to North Florida’s 14.

The start of the match was pushed back by 55 minutes due to a thunderstorm. The contest kicked off with light rain falling as the sun tried to poke through the clouds.

Just 10 minutes into the afternoon, North Florida thought it had scored the game’s first goal with a poke past the GSU keeper, but the linesman’s flag disallowed the goal and kept the score tied 0-0.

Hughes opened the scoring in the 14th minute from long distance. Nick Lane slotted the ball to Hughes in space about 25 yards from goal. Hughes ripped a shot that got past a diving keeper for a 1-0 advantage for Southern.

The Eagles held the lead for seven minutes before UNF tied the match in the 22nd minute when Maurici Valderruten scored from close range on a ball that was passed around the penalty area.

UNF’s Alex Morrell gave the visitors the lead in the 41st minute on a shot from 25 yards out. The Ospreys went 3-1 up in the 74th minute with a breakaway goal from Max McDaniel.

The Eagles are back in action on Monday afternoon against Mercer at Eagle Field. The afternoon tilt begins at 4 p.m. with live video of the match available for free on GSEagles.com.