Furman 4, No. 22 Xavier 3 (2OT)
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Senior Martin Ontiveros scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner in the 106th minute, to lead the Furman men’s soccer team to a 4-3 victory over 22nd-ranked Xavier in the season opener for both schools on Friday at the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic at Patriots Point.
With the match tied at 3-3 in the second overtime period, sophomore Adrian McInnis delivered a long throw-in into the Xavier box and Ontiveros placed a shot past Musketeers goalkeeper Eric Osswald at the 105:09 mark to break the deadlock.
Matt Walker scored in the 82nd minute to rally the Musketeers from a 2-1 deficit and give his team the lead with under nine minutes remaining in regulation. Furman freshman Evan De Ycaza knotted the match at 3-3 in the 86th minute and set up Ontiveros’ overtime heroics when he received an Eric Steber cross near the penalty spot and touched a shot past the keeper for his first collegiate goal.
Xavier grabbed an early lead in the first half on a goal from Will Walker before the Paladins equalized on Tony Santibanez’s first career goal at 36:49. Dylan Rowe delivered a cross from the left and Santibanez directed his shot inside the left post to bring the Paladins even at 1-1.
In the 42nd minute, Ontiveros curled a free kick around the Xavier wall and into the back of the net to score his first of two and give the Paladins the 2-1 lead at intermission.
Calum Latham scored on Matt Walker’s second assist of the night at 66:16 to knot the match at 2-2 before Walker put the Musketeers in front in the 82nd minute.
Furman controlled a majority of possession on the night and fashioned a 17-6 edge in shot attempts, including a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Sven Lissek stopped two shots to earn the win, while Osswald turned away three Paladin shots in a losing effort for Xavier.
The Paladins conclude tournament play on Sunday at noon against 2010 national champion Akron. The Zips, who fashioned an 18-1-3 mark a year ago, were ranked eighth in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25 and No. 9 in the College Soccer News Preseason Top 30.
UNCG 3, UNC Asheville 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG junior midfielder David Reittinger scored a career-best two goals to lead the men’s soccer team to a dominating 3-0 season-opening victory over visiting UNC Asheville on Friday night in front of 892 fans at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
The victory improved the Spartans to 13-0-1 all-time against the Bulldogs and 26-15-2 all-time in season openers, including being unbeaten the last four openers.
The Spartans controlled the run of play from the beginning as they boasted a 23-2 edge in shots, including a 13-0 margin with shots on goal. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Stephen Moffitt made his first career start and posted a shutout in 90 minutes of action.
UNCG opened the scoring in the 37th minute of play as it was awarded a penalty kick after a UNC Asheville foul by Rob May, which resulted in a red card for him. Senior defender Mahdi Ali stepped forward and ripped a shot low and to the left corner past the diving UNC Asheville goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead. The goal was the first of Ali’s career in his 60th career game.
Despite a commanding edge in shots, the Spartans were in a one-goal game until Reittinger scored two goals in a span of 2:54 to put the game out of reach. Freshman Chandler Chappell and sophomore Noah Deangelo combined at the top of the box before finding Reittinger making a run toward goal. He blasted a shot from 10 yards out into the side netting for his first goal since his freshman campaign.
Reittinger equaled his career goal total just under three minutes later off another combination play. Junior Justin Jones took a long throw-in inside the 18-yard box, where Ali was able to flick it toward the back post. Reittinger got on the end of the pass and buried it from five yards out for the 3-0 lead.
The three-point effort by Ali marked his first career multiple-point game, while Chappell and Deangelo notched their first career assists. Senior forward Brian Graham led the Spartans with five shots on the night as 12 different players recorded a shot.
The Spartans return to action Tuesday night as they travel to No. 18 Charlotte. Game time is set for 7 p.m. against the 49ers, who were in the NCAA Championship title game in 2011.
Elon 1, Northeastern 1 (2OT)
DURHAM, N.C. – Matt Wescoe netted the equalizing, penalty-kick goal in the 79th minute as the Elon men's soccer team and the Northeastern Huskies battled to a 1-1 draw at the John Rennie/Nike Invitational on Friday night at Koskinen Stadium.
Elon (0-0-1) outshot the Huskies (0-0-1) 13-9 in the match and had a 7-2 advantage in corners. The Phoenix backline prevented a shot from the Huskies in both overtime periods, while Elon had three chances in both extra sessions.
Northeastern jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal by Donovan Faye in the 10th minute. Faye maneuvered past a couple of Elon defenders to deliver a strike from 15 yards away into the top left corner of the goal.
Elon had chances for the equalizer in the opening stanza but could convert. Daniel Lovitz had a bending shot from the left side go wide of the goal in the 16th minute. Miguel Salazar also had an attempt on a free kick, but the ball went high over the post.
The Huskies continued to be aggressive in the first half with a 5-3 advantage on shots. Faye had a chance to put Northeastern up 2-0 on a free kick near the 41st minute, but keeper Nathan Dean knocked the ball away for his second save of the half.
After intermission, the Huskies continued to put pressure on the Phoenix backline with a pair of shots in the 55th and 69th minutes, but both went high of the post, keeping Elon within reach.
In the 75th minute, the Maroon and Gold kept pressure on the Huskies’ defense as Austin Dunker fired a shot from the top left corner outside of the penalty box. Northeastern keeper Dylan Faber was able to corral the ball to keep the score at 1-0.
A Northeastern penalty in the 79th minute led to Elon's goal. Phoenix forward Thorsten Pacher drew a foul on the NU keeper as both were jostling for the ball in the box. Wescoe converted on the penalty kick to tie the match at 1-1.
Elon's Charles Howard nearly had to go-ahead goal at the 81st minute after he found himself alone at the top of the penalty box, but Faber made the save as the teams moved into extra time.
Elon had two shots in the opening two minutes of the extra session as Howard and Samuel McBride each had their attempts go wide or blocked by Faber. Wescoe also had an attempt corralled by Northeastern with nearly a minute left in the first overtime.
The Phoenix's best opportunity at a goal came in the 101st minute on a McBride header that Faber just got his fingertips on to knock it off the top of the post. Another header shot by Elon's Nathan Diehl could not find its way past the keeper as the match ended in a 1-1 tie.
Elon returns to the pitch to close out the tournament with a match versus Rutgers on Sunday. That match is scheduled for a 12 p.m. kickoff.
Davidson 1, Navy 1 (2OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson and Navy played to a 1-1 draw in nonconference men’s soccer action to open the 2013 season Friday evening at Alumni Stadium.
Just minutes after checking into the game for the first time, the Wildcats’ Jake Keator provided the equalizer with a 78th minute blast from about 25 yards out. Keator’s goal was set up by Max Pragnell and Alan Reiter.
Davidson’s Chris Pettiglio came within inches of ending the contest early in the second overtime, but his right-footed attempt from the far side of the field caromed off the left post.
After threatening with a number of chances in the second period, Navy’s Jamie Dubyoski broke the scoreless tie off a through ball from P.J. Suess at the 59:27 mark.
Despite trailing 10-5 in shots at the break, Davidson had three good scoring chances in the first 45 minutes, including a pair by junior Gabe Rivera. The forward’s first missed just wide of frame, while Navy’s Aaron Dupere turned away his second strike.
With just seconds remaining in the opening period, the Midshipman’s Matthias Pecoraro came free for a one-on-one opportunity before Davidson’s keeper Matt Pacifici came up with a diving save before the horn sounded.
Pacifici was brilliant in net for the Wildcats, coming up with nine saves, while Dupere stopped four for Navy.
The Midshipman controlled the shot column and finished with 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Davidson will wrap up its season-opening weekend with a 7 p.m. contest against Marshall on Sunday night at Alumni Stadium.
Appalachian State 0, Marshall 0 (2OT)
BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State’s men’s soccer team opened its regular season Friday evening when it hosted the Marshall Thundering Herd. The squads played to a scoreless draw.
Senior goalkeeper Danny Free received the starting nod for head coach Matt Nelson's squad and earned the shutout, playing 110 minutes and making five tremendous saves in net.
The Mountaineers matched the physicality of Marshall early and often. A lot of the play early on took place in the middle of the field with a few shots being taken by both teams. The Herd outshot Appalachian State 15-13, although the two teams played a much tighter game than even those stats would let on.
Of Appalachian State’s 13 shots, four were on goal, and the Mountaineers had three hit off the post just inches from being goals. The offensive attack from the Apps created nine corner kicks in the game. Sophomore Trey Hemphill led the Mountaineers in shots with five, two of which were on target.
The speed of Stanley Broaden and Jackson Allen kept Marshall on its toes defensively.
The teams combined for 35 fouls – 19 for Marshall and 16 for Appalachian. There were four yellow cards handed out as well, with two for each team.
The Appalachian State defense included a team save from freshman Stephen Chapman when Free got caught out of the net.
The Mountaineers play again on Sunday when they host the Navy Midshipmen. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. from Appalachian Soccer Stadium.
Gardner-Webb 5, Wofford 4 (OT)
STATESBORO, GA. – The Wofford men’s soccer team opened the season playing in a nine-goal thriller but was unable to pull off the win as it fell to Gardner-Webb University, 5-4 in overtime on Friday at the SoCon/Big South Challenge.
In the first half, the Runnin’ Bulldogs got off to a quick start as forward Patrick Gurser scored after receiving a pass from sophomore midfielder Arjun Jung in the fifth minute. Wofford and Gardner-Webb battled the rest of the half, keeping the game low scoring going into the break, 1-0.
In the second half, both teams came alive, scoring a total of eight goals. The Terriers would strike first, bringing the game even at 1-1 in the 55th minute. Junior forward Carlos Gonzalez-Dominguez scored his first goal of the season off of sophomore midfielder Nestor Jarmillo’s corner kick. Wofford would then pull ahead 2-1, when sophomore midfielder Connor Davis scored his first goal of the season with a shot from the top of the box in the 62nd minute. Senior defender Billy Padula and sophomore midfielder Will Puckett were credited with assists.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs would then knot the game up again at 2-2 in the 70th minute as forward Denzel Clarke scored his first of three goals in the match off a chipped free kick from forward Ali Al-Gashamy.
Wofford would respond and retake the lead 3-2 a minute later when Davis scored his second goal of the match off of a cross from Padula. The Terriers would then extend their lead in the 73rd minute when senior forward Chase West scored his first goal of the season off of a low cross from junior midfielder Nick Orton.
Gardner-Webb brought the game within one again as defender Marius Hammersmark scored an unassisted goal in the 86th minute. Clarke got on the score sheet for the second time with less than two minutes to play, firing home a shot off of Gurser’s pass, forcing the game to go to overtime with the score at 4-4.
In the overtime period, Gardner-Webb would end the game in the 92nd minute as Clarke completed his hat trick with the game-winning goal off of Al-Gashamy’s cross making the final score 5-4.
For the Terriers, freshman goalkeeper Garrett Closs played the full game and suffered his first loss of the season. He faced a total of 13 Gardner-Webb shots and made four saves. For the Runnin’ Bulldogs, Matthew Swan earned his first win of the season, facing 13 Terrier shots and making four saves.
For the game, the teams tied in the shot count 13-13, while Gardner-Webb won the corner battle 6-4.
Wofford will return to action on Sunday when it faces Winthrop for its second game of its season-opening weekend. The game will kick off at 12 p.m.
Winthrop 2, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern’s men’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to Winthrop at the SoCon/Big South Challenge on Friday night at Eagle Field.
Great defense by the hosts kept the score tied at 0-0 through 45 minutes, but Winthrop goals in the 46th and 55th minutes put the Eagles behind. Witt Carlisle scored late for the Eagles, but it wasn’t enough on the night.
Winthrop scored the match’s opening goal just 43 seconds into the second half. Adriano Negri got free in the Georgia Southern defensive third and was able to rifle a shot past goalkeeper Neal Bates to give the visiting Eagles a 1-0 advantage in the 46th minute.
Winthrop went up 2-0 just nine minutes later as Negri scored again for Winthrop. The forward cleaned up a loose rebound in the box. Max Hasenstab’s shot was saved by Bates, but the hard shot bounced out of his mitts and allowed Negri to score his second tally of the night.
The Eagles were given new life in the 72nd minute when a hand ball was called on Winthrop in the box, with the visitors called for swatting a Georgia Southern scoring chance off the line, sending Reed Norton to the penalty spot. The sophomore midfielder pulled the chance wide as the opportunity was thwarted.
Georgia Southern pressed forward as Winthrop’s defense absorbed the pressure over the final minutes. The Eagles’ tenacity paid off when Carlisle got on the end of a through ball from Thomas Valikonis to cut the Winthrop lead to 2-1 with less than 30 seconds to play.
The goal, however, was too late as the Eagles would not get another chance in the final 27 seconds of the match.
The Eagles are back in action in the finale of the SoCon/Big South Challenge on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. GSU faces Gardner-Webb, which topped Wofford 5-4 in overtime to win Friday’s first game. Winthrop faces Wofford on Sunday at noon to start the final day of the tournament.