Elon 3, Davidson 2 (2OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Cauê Da Silva’s golden goal early in the second overtime helped the Elon University men’s soccer team to a 3-2 Southern Conference win at Davidson on Saturday night at Alumni Field.
Elon improved to 11-4-1 and 3-2 in SoCon play with its win over the Wildcats (6-9-1, 1-4 SoCon). The victory was also career win No. 90 for Elon head coach Darren Powell at the school, three shy of tying the program’s all-time record.
The Wildcats fell to 6-9-1 and 1-4-0 in the SoCon.
Elon outshot Davidson 19-5 in the match overall and had a 14-2 advantage on frame. The Phoenix also led in corners with an 11-4 mark, including a 7-3 advantage after halftime.
Davidson’s Max Pragnell scored the first goal of the match after delivering on a header shot in the 16th minute. Pragnell received a John Pace cross from midfield and scored his second goal of the season to put Davidson up 1-0.
The Phoenix responded with the equalizer almost five minutes later, as Jason Waterman scored on assists from Daniel Lovitz and James Brace. The junior striker tied the match at 1-1 on his seventh goal of the season after taking a curled cross from Lovitz.
Waterman nearly put Elon ahead less than a minute after the Phoenix’s first goal, as he took a shot from the top of the box. Davidson keeper Matt Pacifici was able to corral the ball to preserve the score.
The teams went into the half knotted at 1-1. The Phoenix held an 8-3 advantage in shots, with six coming on frame. Elon was also up by three in corners, 4-1.
Five minutes after the start of the second half, Brace put Elon ahead 2-1, connecting on a shot from just outside the box after taking a feed from Lovitz. It was also the seventh goal of the season for the Hartlepool, England, native and the first multi-goal match of the year during league play for the Phoenix.
The Wildcats would not go away quietly and responded with the equalizer in the 79th minute. Jake Keator fired a shot just outside the top of the penalty box that found the back right corner of the net and tied the match at 2-2.
Elon almost jumped back in front after the score, as Waterman almost had a shot from point-blank range go through, but Pacifici was there to turn him away.
Davidson looked to take advantage of its momentum near the 85th minute after earning a corner kick. The Wildcats could not convert, as the Phoenix defended the set piece very well.
Elon continued to throw numbers up forward in an attempt to add the go-ahead before the end of regulation. Pacifici, however, thwarted Waterman’s attempt with just a few seconds left and the teams went into overtime.
In the first overtime period, Waterman had another shot close to the goal near the 97th minute, but again Pacifici was there from the save and the match went into a second extra session.
Just 49 seconds into the start of the second overtime period, Da Silva scored his third goal of the season after connecting off a deflection from a Charles Howard cross. The sophomore managed to get his left foot on the ball a fired into the open net to give Elon its first SoCon road victory and snap the Phoenix’s two-game losing streak.
Davidson’s Matt Pacifici led both keepers with 11 saves.
The Wildcats will continue their season-ending homestand with a 7 p.m. contest against Virginia Tech on Tuesday.
Elon closes out the regular season at home in its final two contests, including a match versus Coastal Carolina on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Phoenix and Chanticleers will meet for a rematch of last year’s opening round in NCAA tournament.
UNCG 2, Georgia Southern 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Redshirt sophomore forward Dustin Gamradt scored two second-half goals in a span of 7:20 to lift the UNCG men’s soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Georgia Southern in front of 1,678 fans on Homecoming night at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Gamradt’s two goals wiped out a 1-0 advantage the Eagles (6-9-0, 1-4-0 SoCon) had held since the 29th minute of play and improved the Spartans to 3-1-1 in Southern Conference play to move into second place in the standings. Additionally, it assures the Spartans of finishing in the top four of the standings, which secures either a home game in the first round (seeds 2-4) or a first-round bye (top seed) in the SoCon tournament.
Gamradt’s two goals raise his team-leading total to five on the year and three in SoCon play. He has scored his five goals despite only taking 12 shots on the year as a reserve forward.
The first half was a defensive battle before the Eagles scored the game’s first goal in the 29th minute. Eric Dinka made a run through the midfield and fed Hunter Norton on the right side of the box. Norton was able to beat redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Stephen Moffitt low for his fourth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
The Spartans (8-6-2, 3-1-1 SoCon) regrouped at halftime and came out of the break with the decided advantage in the run of play. UNCG started to be dangerous in the 58th minute of play as it repeatedly put the Eagles under pressure. Sophomore Lukas Zarges made a run behind the Georgia Southern defense down the left-hand side. Zarges stopped on a dime and dropped it off to junior David Reittinger, who ripped a shot from 15 yards out that was blocked by an Eagle defender.
The Spartans kept attacking and had another strong chance in the 59th minute. This time, sophomore Noah DeAngelo made a run down the right-hand side and found Austin Miller. Miller took a shot from 16 yards out that was saved by Neal Bates to keep the Spartans off the board.
UNCG finally broke through in the 68th minute of action. Senior midfielder Oddur Gudmundsson sent a through ball behind the GSU defense that found Gamradt alone against Bates. He quickly pushed the ball around the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to tie the game and send the crowd into a frenzy.
The Spartans kept attacking and fed off the season-high crowd of 1,678 fans and took the lead just over seven minutes later in the 76th minute of play. This time, freshman forward Hill Gwynn put a Georgia Southern defender under pressure and won a 50-50 ball in the midfield to spring himself down the right-hand side. Gwynn whipped a cross into the box, where it found Gamradt, who was able to strike it past Bates for his team-leading fifth goal of the year to cap off the Homecoming celebration.
Moffitt made the one-goal lead stand with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game as Georgia Southern threatened on a corner kick. The Eagles whipped the ball into the box, where it came perilously close to going into the goal, but Moffitt was there to save a point-blank shot from Jeremy Rector to preserve the thrilling victory.
Prior to the game, the Spartans honored their senior class with a pregame ceremony recognizing Preston Ford, Brian Graham, Gudmundsson and Mahdi Ali, along with student-manager Nathan Baker.
The Spartans step out of SoCon action Tuesday night as they travel to Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Charlottesville.
The Eagles travel to Greenville, S.C., on Tuesday night to face 11th-ranked Furman.
Georgia State 2, Appalachian State 1
ATLANTA – Appalachian State fell to the Panthers of Georgia State on Saturday night, 2-1.
The Mountaineers (3-6-6) fell for the second time in as many games in the state of Georgia. Appalachian State lost to Georgia Southern last Saturday before making the return trip to the state to face Georgia State.
The Panthers (8-7-1) were able to get on the board first in the 14th minute of the game, when Aaron Jones put a free kick off of the crossbar, which allowed Stephen McGill to put a header on the rebound and get it past Danny Free. Free got the start for the Mountaineers and made three saves on the night.
In the 29th minute, Georgia State would strike again. Jamal Keene scored for the Panthers on a cross that got deflected in the box. Keene had a quick turn and was able to get it high enough that Free couldn’t reach it. The goal extended the Panther lead to 2-0.
One minute later, Appalachian would have an answer. In the 30th minute, Stanley Broaden would score to bring the Mountaineers to within one goal. The goal for Broaden was his fifth of the season.
Georgia State outshot Appalachian by a 13-5 tally with five of them on target to the Mountaineers’ three. Each team only had one corner kick each on the night.
The Mountaineers will return to the pitch on Tuesday when they travel to Raleigh, N.C., to face ACC member NC State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.