No. 17 Furman 1, No. 25 Elon 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Freshman Bobby Edet bagged his seventh goal of the season with less than eight minutes left in regulation to break a scoreless tie and lead the 17th-ranked Furman men’s soccer team to a 1-0 victory over 25th-ranked Elon in Southern Conference play on Friday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The victory improved the Paladins to 10-1-2 overall and 2-0-2 in the SoCon while extending their unbeaten run to 11 matches. For Furman, 2-1 winners at ninth-ranked Clemson on Tuesday, it marked the second win over a top-25 opponent this week. Elon slipped to 10-3-1 overall and 2-2-0 in league play.
With the match tied 0-0 and under 7:30 to play, Edet took a pass down the left wing and went one-on-one with the Elon right back. As the two players collided and went to the ground, Edet played the ball forward. He beat his defender to his feet, dribbled into the left side of the box and curled a shot under the crossbar in the right corner at 82:56.
The goal marked Edet’s seventh score of the campaign and fourth match-winning goal of the season.
Elon went on the attack early in the match, as Charles Howard and Nathan Diehl each forced Paladin goalkeeper Sven Lissek into saves in the opening two minutes. Jason Waterman turned in a shot on goal in the 14th minute before Howard and Caue Da Silva had shots turned away by Lissek shortly after the half-hour mark.
Furman went on the attack in the final minutes of the first half and nearly grabbed the lead when Trevor Haberkorn directed a shot on goal from just outside the 6-yard box, but a Phoenix defender cleared the ball off of the goal line and Michael Gandier’s shot off of the rebound missed wide.
Lissek came up with three more saves in the first 35 minutes of the second half. After being outshot 10-4 in the first half, the Paladins went on the attack in the second half and posted a 5-3 shots edge. Following Lissek’s third save on a Howard shot in the 80th minute, Edet handed the Paladins the lead and the Furman defense held Elon without a shot the rest of the way.
A native of Sewau, Germany, Lissek earned the win with a season-high eight saves. The shutout was Lissek’s eighth of the season and Furman’s ninth as a team. Nathan Dean registered two saves for Elon in a losing effort.
Elon outshot the Paladins 13-9 with an 8-4 edge in shots on goal.
The Paladins return to action on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Georgia State before hosting Georgia Southern on Seagraves Field on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.
Elon will play at Duke on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Wofford 5, UNCG 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Five different Terriers found the back of the net as the Wofford men’s soccer team defeated the UNCG Spartans, 5-1 in Southern Conference play Saturday.
With the win, the Terriers improved to 8-5-1 overall and hold their first-place spot in the Southern Conference with a record of 4-1. The Spartans fell to 7-6-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the Southern Conference.
Wofford opened the scoring in the seventh minute, when sophomore midfielder Connor Davis scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season off of a long throw-in from senior defender Billy Padula, putting the team up 1-0.
The Terriers would continue the pressure, creating multiple opportunities over the next several minutes. Sophomore midfielder Nestor Jaramillo had a great chance to extend the lead in the 24th minute, when his shot was saved by UNCG goalkeeper Stephen Moffitt.
Freshman forward Matthew Aurednik would make the score 2-0 in the 33rd minute, when he stole a bad back pass in the defense and capitalized for his fourth goal of the season.
The Spartans would create their first chance of the half in the 34th minute, when Noah DeAngelo had a header shot saved by Wofford’s freshman goalkeeper, Garrett Closs.
The Terriers would close the half with a third goal in the 40th minute, when Padula’s long throw-in found junior defender Forrest Lasso, who headed the ball into the goal for his fifth of the season, making the score at the half 3-0.
Padula’s assist gave him nine for the season, breaking the Wofford record for assists in a single season for the Division I era, starting in 1995. He owned the record last season with eight.
In the second half, UNCG created a couple of good opportunities, one of the best of which came in the 51st minute, when David Reittinger had a shot miss wide of the goal.
Wofford would create the first great opportunity of the half when Jaramillo had a shot saved by UNCG’s second goalkeeper, Davis Griffin, in the 54th minute.
Junior forward Matt Frongello would score the fourth Terrier goal of the match in the 70th minute, when he received a pass from Jaramillo and took a shot with the outside of his foot that found the bottom right corner of the net from 16 yards out.
Ten minutes later, junior forward Benny Puetter hit a screamer one time off a bad pass in the for his first goal of the season in the 80th minute, extending the lead to 5-0.
The Spartans would find a consolation goal in the 89th minute when Andrew Dilley took advantage of a scramble in the box, making the final score 5-1.
For the match, the Terriers outshot UNCG 20-5, while the Spartans won the battle of the corner kicks 3-2.
In goal for Wofford, Closs earned his fifth win of the season, facing five UNCG shots and making one save. For the Spartans, Moffitt played the first 45 minutes of the match, taking the loss. He faced 11 Terrier shots and made two saves. Griffin played the second 45 minutes, facing nine Wofford shots and making three saves.
The Terriers return to the pitch on Wednesday, Oct. 30, when they host Presbyterian College in a nonconference matchup at Snyder Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
UNCG returns to action Saturday, Oct. 26, when it hosts Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern 1, Appalachian State 0
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern took a thrilling 1-0 win over Appalachian State on Senior Night on Saturday. Senior Roberto Lopez was the hero, scoring the winning goal with his mother, who was seeing him play in college for the first time, in the stands.
Before the match, Georgia Southern honored its class of six seniors. Lopez, Neal Bates, Witt Carlisle, Nick Lane, Hunter Norton and Thomas Valikonis were recognized for their contributions to Eagle soccer.
The Eagles brought the intensity in the first half, outshooting the Mountaineers 6-4 in the opening period. After halftime, Appalachian State amped up the pressure as the match turned into a back-and-forth battle of the midfields.
The Eagles went 1-0 up on a splendid strike by Lopez in the 68th minute. The senior posted his first career goal on a right-footed strike from 25 yards. Hunter Norton got the assist, his third of the season.
Appalachian State was reduced to 10 men in the 74th minute as Harrison Delbridge picked up his second yellow card of the evening.
Georgia Southern finished off the match without much drama as the Eagles posted their third shutout of the season and the first at the friendly confines. Neal Bates needed to make just four saves, as most of Appalachian State’s 12 shots went wide.
The Eagles improved to 5-8-0 on the year and 1-3-0 in league play with two SoCon matches remaining. Appalachian State fell to 3-4-6 on the year with a 1-3-1 league mark.
Georgia Southern will host Jacksonville on Tuesday night in the final home game of the 2013 season. The Eagles and Dolphins start at 7 p.m.
Appalachian State returns to action Saturday, Oct. 26, when it faces Georgia State in Atlanta, Ga., at 7 p.m.
Bowling Green 2, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Bowling Green netted a goal in each half to spoil Davidson's Homecoming with a 2-0 victory in nonconference men's soccer action Saturday evening at Alumni Stadium.
With the win, the Falcons moved to 4-6-4 overall, while the Wildcats fell to 6-7-1.
Just 5:58 into the contest, Joe Sullivan recorded the eventual game-winner with a header off an assist from Vlad Lekarev.
After giving up the early goal, Davidson had its chances to even the score in the opening half with all five of its attempts coming on frame. The Wildcats' best opportunity came in the 21st minute, when Chris Pettiglio's low drive was knocked down and then gathered by Falcon keeper Michael Wiest, who beat Valeriy Sviderskiy to the rebound.
Less than a minute after Sviderskiy missed an equalizer from just in front, Bowling Green's Danny Baraldi was unable to convert a 49th-minute penalty kick as his attempt caromed off the left post.
The Falcons put the game out of reach with 4:45 left on Baraldi's second strike of the season.
Despite trailing in the shot column for the first time in six games, the Wildcats put eight of their 14 attempts on goal.
Wiest led both keepers with eight saves, while Andrew Kenneson finished with six for Davidson.
Pettiglio paced the Wildcats with a game-high five shots, including three on goal.
Davidson will travel to nationally ranked Wake Forest on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest.