Georgia Southern 2, No. 14 Furman 1 (OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Georgia Southern’s Witt Carlisle scored a pair of goals, including the overtime winner in the 98th minute, as the Eagles slipped past 14th-ranked Furman, 2-1, in Southern Conference men’s soccer action before a crowd of 1,943 Tuesday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium.
The overtime defeat dropped the Paladins to 2-1-2 in league play and eliminated Furman, 10-3-2 overall, from contention for the SoCon regular-season title. Georgia Southern improved to 7-9-0 overall and 2-4-0 in the league.
With just over two minutes to play in the first overtime period, Ethan LaPan floated a cross from the right wing into the box. Carlisle, charging toward the right corner of the 6-yard box, connected with the cross and fired his shot into the left corner at 97:24 for the match winner.
The Eagles had gained a 1-0 lead early in the second half on Carlisle’s first goal of the night and fifth of the season. On a similar play to the match-winner, Reed Norton curled a cross beyond Furman’s back line for Carlisle, who one-timed his shot across the face of goal and into the right corner from close range.
Furman, which missed on several first-half chances to take the lead, turned up the heat after Georgia Southern’s opening score. Michael Gandier was played in behind the defense with 20 minutes remaining in regulation on a ball over the top from Josh Fusan, but the senior’s chip past the charging keeper landed on the top netting. Less than seven minutes later, freshman Bobby Edet volleyed a shot from the top of the 18-yard box that flashed wide of the left post.
The Paladins finally equalized with under 11 minutes to play, when Martin Ontiveros picked out Trevor Haberkorn with a free kick from high on the right side and the freshman headed inside the near post for his first collegiate goal at the 79:21 mark.
The Eagles compiled a 26-20 edge in total shots on the night, while both teams recorded eight shots on goal.
Trent Johnson, who replaced Sven Lissek in goal for the Paladins in the second half, made two saves in the loss. Georgia Southern’s Neal Bates claimed seven saves to earn the win for the Eagles.
The Paladins, who have now secured a home game for Nov. 9 in the quarterfinal round of the SoCon tournament, close out the regular season when they host Wofford for Senior Day on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Furman can still earn the No. 2, 3 or 4 seed for the seven-team SoCon tournament. The semifinals of the tournament will be held on Nov. 15 at Stone Stadium, with the championship match set to be held on the Furman campus on Nov. 17.
Georgia Southern closes the 2013 regular season on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. against James Madison. The Eagles open SoCon tournament play next weekend on the road. Full details will be announced after the final round of league games on Saturday.
Elon 2, No. 6 Coastal Carolina 1
ELON, N.C. – Senior Daniel Lovitz’s conversion on a penalty kick in the 85th minute helped the Elon University men’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over No. 6 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday night at Rudd Field. The win ties the Phoenix’s highest defeat ever against a ranked opponent.
Elon improved to 12-4-1 after earning its first win against the Chanticleers (12-3) since 2000. The victory was also the maroon and gold’s second against a top-10 opponent this season since a 1-0 defeat at home to then-No. 9 Wake Forest on Sept. 17. The win ties Elon’s highest defeat against a ranked opponent since a 2-0 victory versus then-sixth-ranked Charlotte last season.
Neither team could get on the scoreboard in the first half, with limited opportunities on each side. Coastal Carolina found a few chances near the 10th minute, as Pedro Ribeiro’s shot went wide then a follow a minute later by Ricky Garbanzo was blocked by the maroon and gold defense, leading to a corner. The Chanticleers could not convert on the set piece and the ball went the other way.
Elon threatened in the 37th minute, as Myles Mansfield was able to beat the Chanticleers’ back four, but his shot was corralled keeper Devin Cook. CCU wasted no time racing back to the opposite end and almost had a header shot by Ribeiro go into the back of the net, but Elon keeper Nathan Dean was there to make the stop.
The teams went into the half scoreless, with Coastal Carolina holding a slight 4-2 advantage on shots and leading the Phoenix in corners, 3-1.
After Cook turned away a few early opportunities in the second stanza, the Phoenix took its first lead of the game in the 69th minute. James Brace, who had entered the game for the first time in the 64th minute, scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season to put the Phoenix up 1-0. The sophomore from Hartlepool, England, took a feed from Charles Howard on a cross and sent the shot past Cook into the back right corner of the net.
The momentum was swayed the other way, however, as the Chanticleers converted on the equalizer in the 78th minute. Justin Portillo fired a shot that was blocked by the defense, but Elon could not clear it and Ribeiro converted on the rebound to tie the match at 1-1.
Elon continued to fight back and prevented the Chanticleers from jumping out in front for the rest of the match. The Phoenix, meanwhile, continued to put offensive pressure on CCU, with Lovitz being one of the main catalysts. The midfielder earned a penalty kick after being taken down on the left side in the box, resulting into the first penalty kick attempt of the year. The Wydmoor, Pa., native placed a low shot to the left on frame past Cook to put Elon up 2-1.
The goal was Lovitz’s third of the season and ended up being his third game-winner as the Phoenix held off the Chanticleers and gave Coastal Carolina its first loss since a 2-1 setback to then-15th-ranked Charlotte on Sept. 6.
The programs were knotted at 11-all in shots, but the Phoenix had a 9-7 advantage after halftime. Elon also narrowed the margin in corners but was one shy of Coastal Carolina, 5-4.
Elon closes out the regular season on Saturday with a home match versus Southern Conference foe and I-40 rival UNCG, with kick slated for a 7 p.m. start. The Phoenix will also recognize its senior class prior to the match.
Davidson 2, Virginia Tech 1 (OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Chris Pettiglio evened the score with 59 seconds remaining in regulation and Valeriy Sviderskiy provided the golden goal in the 95th minute to lead Davidson to a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech in nonconference men’s soccer action Tuesday evening at Alumni Stadium.
With the win, the Wildcats ended a five-game slide to improve to 7-9-1 overall, while the Hokies fell to 4-6-5.
Sviderskiy’s third game-winner of the season came 4:24 into overtime, when he followed a missed shot from just in front by fellow forward Max Pragnell.
After threatening with a couple of opportunities late in the contest, Pettiglio forced overtime with a 90th-minute equalizer, when he tracked down his own rebound and found the back of the net for his third goal of the season.
Davidson, which trailed in the shot column 7-3 at the break, outshot the Hokies 11-6 in the second frame and overtime to finish with a 14-13 edge.
Just 39 seconds into the match, Virginia Tech took advantage of a Wildcat miscue when David Clemens intercepted a pass just outside the box and played it through to Kai Marshall, who beat goalkeeper Matt Pacifici far post.
Shane Macnamara had the best scoring chance for Davidson in the opening half, but the Hokies’ Kyle Renfro made a kick save on the sophomore’s low blast.
In addition to the Wildcats’ late offensive charge, Pacifici came up with a number of huge saves and concluded the night with five stops. Renfro turned away a game-high six shots for Virginia Tech.
The Wildcats will wrap up the regular season with a 7 p.m. kickoff against Appalachian State on Friday on 1992 Team Field.
No. 11 Virginia 2, UNCG 1 (OT)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The UNCG men’s soccer team almost came away with a big upset Tuesday as the Spartans dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to No. 11 Virginia at Klöckner Stadium. The Spartans rallied from a one-goal second-half deficit to force overtime, but the Cavaliers ran their unbeaten streak to 11 straight games with a goal in the 96th minute of play in the final regular-season nonconference game for the Spartans.
UNCG closes out the 2013 regular season Saturday as it travels to Burlington, N.C., to face rival Elon at 7 p.m. The Spartans will be playing for a chance at the Southern Conference championship Saturday night. UNCG can win the outright championship with a victory over Elon and a Furman victory at home over Wofford. The Spartans can claim a share of the championship with a win over the Phoenix and a Furman/Wofford tie Saturday. UNCG owns a 3-1-1 record in SoCon play this season, good for 10 points in the standings, trailing only Wofford at 4-1-0 (12 points).
Virginia, which is 12th in the nation in scoring, opened the contest with a goal in the 13th minute of play. The Cavaliers were awarded a free kick, which Jordan Allen took and sent into the box. Ryan Zinkhan rose up in the box and headed it past redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Stephen Moffitt for his third goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
The Spartans kept battling despite being at a 9-0 disadvantage in fouls in the first 45 minutes of play. UNCG broke through and tied the game in the 69th minute of play as its pressure finally cracked Virginia. The Spartans had back-to-back corner kicks against the Cavaliers and converted on their second attempt to tie the game at 1-1.
Sophomore midfielder Lukas Zarges curled a left-footed cross into the box. Senior midfielder Oddur Gudmundsson rose above his defender and rammed home a header past Virginia goalkeeper Jeff Gal. The goal was Gudmundsson’s second of the season and tied the game at 1-1.
The Spartans kept the Cavaliers at bay down the stretch of regulation and forced overtime, as Moffitt finished with four saves, three of which came in the second half. Virginia picked up the game-winning tally in the 96th minute of play, as this time it was its turn to score off a corner kick. Riggs Lennon was able to head home the cross from Todd Wharton past Moffitt for his fifth goal of the season and a 2-1 Virginia victory.
The game was the first meeting between UNCG and Virginia in almost 10 years to the day. The Spartans won the last meeting 2-1 in Greensboro, N.C., in the 2003 season but are now 1-4 all-time against the Cavaliers.
NC State 4, Appalachian State 1
RALEIGH, N.C. – Appalachian State played in-state ACC member NC State on Tuesday evening and fell by a final 4-1 tally.
Senior goalkeeper Danny Free moved into sixth place all-time on Appalachian State’s career saves list. Free came into the contest one save shy of moving up and made four big saves for the Mountaineers on the night.
The Mountaineers (3-6-6) held their own throughout the match against a tough opponent in the Wolfpack. NC State led in shots in the match 14-10, including eight on goal for the Wolfpack and five for the Mountaineers. The Apps held the advantage in corner kicks 5-2.
The Wolfpack (7-4-4) got the scoring started early. In the third minute of the game, Nazmi Albadawi put one past Free on an assist from Gbenga Makinde. Then in the 22nd minute, Clement Simonin was able to volley a deep throw-in from Nick Surkamp to give the Wolfpack a 2-0 advantage.
The two-goal lead would hold going into the half for NC State. In the 48th minute, Moss Jackson-Atogi would strike for a 3-0 advantage. Alex Martinez sent a ball into the box from the right on a set piece that Jackson-Atogi was able to get a head on.
Appalachian State would get on the scoreboard in the 49th minute on a free kick from Patrick Harrow, who blasted a set piece from 30 yards out past Wolfpack keeper Fabian Otte to cut the deficit to 3-1. Otte made four saves on the night. The goal for Harrow was the first of the season for the defender.
Twenty-one seconds later, however, the Wolfpack would get the Harrow goal back as Surkamp would score on a through ball from Albadawi and give NC State its three-goal lead back and this time for good.
The Mountaineers will return to action on Friday for their final conference match of the season when they travel to Davidson. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.