Men's Soccer Southern Conference

Men's Soccer Championship Concludes This Weekend

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2013 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship moves to Greenville, S.C., for the semifinals and championship this weekend at Furman’s Stone Stadium.

Semifinal play will commence Friday at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., while the title match will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. and will be carried live on ESPN3 with Darren Goldwater and Charlie Slagle on the call.

Regular-season SoCon champion Wofford earned a bye into the semifinals by virtue of securing the No. 1 seed in the tournament. No. 2 seed Elon, No. 4 seed Furman and No. 6 seed Georgia Southern earned their spots in the semifinals with wins in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.

Friday’s first semifinal will pit Elon against Georgia Southern. Second-seeded Elon (13-4-2, 4-2-0) enters the weekend ranked No. 22 in the nation by Soccer America and seeking its third straight title. The Phoenix punched its ticket to Greenville in exciting fashion Saturday in the quarterfinals, getting a Nathan Diehl goal in the 88th minute against No. 7 seed Appalachian State to force overtime then prevailing 8-7 in the ninth round of penalty kicks after two scoreless extra periods. Elon saw seven players earn all-conference honors, including SoCon Player of the Year Daniel Lovitz. Fellow first-team selection Jason Waterman shares the league scoring lead with 25 points on nine goals and seven assists. Darren Powell was named SoCon Coach of the Year for the second straight season and fourth time in his nine-year career.

Georgia Southern (9-9-0, 2-4-0 SoCon) downed No. 3 seed UNCG in the first round for the second straight season, getting a Witt Carlisle penalty kick in the 65th minute for the only score of the game. Carlisle and brothers Hunter and Reed Norton were first-team all-conference performers this season, as the Eagles tied Elon for the most first-team selections. Carlisle is fourth in the league in scoring with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. GSU, the sixth seed, will be vying for its first SoCon championship in its final season in the league.

Elon and Georgia Southern will be meeting in the semifinals for the second straight season and in the tournament for the third consecutive year. Last year, Elon prevailed 1-0 en route to the title.

Friday’s nightcap will see rivals Wofford and Furman square off for the second time in 13 days. Wofford (10-6-1, 5-1-0 SoCon) won its second regular-season title with a 2-0 win over Furman on the final day of the regular season. No. 2 nationally in scoring offense with 2.35 goals per game, Wofford boasts four of the league’s top 10 scorers. The Terriers are paced by first-team all-conference midfielder Connor Davis, who shares the league lead in scoring with 25 points on a SoCon-best 10 goals and five assists. Last season’s SoCon Freshman of the Year, Nestor Jaramillo, is tied for fifth in the league in scoring with 16 points on six goals and four assists. Wofford won its only previous title in 2009.

Tournament host Furman (11-4-2, 2-2-2 SoCon) earned a thrilling 1-0, first-round win over No. 5 seed Davidson on Martin Ontiveros’ goal with just 24 seconds left in regulation. The Paladins, which put together an 11-match unbeaten streak and have been ranked as high as No. 11 nationally this season, saw five players earn all-conference honors, including first-teamer Ontiveros and second-team forward Bobby Edet, who was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year. Edet leads the Paladins in scoring on the year with 15 points on seven goals and one assist. The Paladins will be attempting to win their 12th tournament title and first since 2007.

Furman and Wofford have met in the tournament seven previous times, all in the first round, with Furman leading the series 6-1. The Terriers picked up their first win over the Paladins in tournament play last season, downing Furman 2-1.

The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship. The selection show can be seen at NCAA.com on Monday at noon.

Semifinals, Friday, Nov. 15
Greenville, S.C.
Semifinal 1 – No. 2 seed Elon vs. No. 6 seed Georgia Southern, 5:30 p.m. (SoCon.TV)
Semifinal 2 – No. 1 seed Wofford vs. No. 4 seed Furman, 8 p.m. (SoCon.TV)

Championship, Sunday, Nov. 17
Greenville, S.C.
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. winner of Semifinal 2, 1 p.m. (ESPN3)

-www.SoConSports.com-