Wofford 3, Jacksonville 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Sophomore midfielder Nestor Jaramillo scored twice as the Wofford men’s soccer team defeated Jacksonville 3-1 at Snyder Field on Saturday. With their second win in a row, the Terriers improved to 2-3-1 overall. With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 1-2-1 on the season.
In the first half, the Terriers put pressure on the Dolphins in the first eight minutes of the game, creating multiple scoring opportunities. The best chance came in the seventh minute, when sophomore midfielder Connor Davis had a header off a corner kick saved by Jacksonville’s redshirt freshman goalkeeper, Marc Meny.
After the early pressure, Wofford would then be rewarded in the 22nd minute as Davis back-heeled a bouncing ball to Jaramillo, who volleyed a thunderous shot into the top left corner of the net, making the score 1-0. For Jaramillo, it was his second goal of the season, and it was Davis’ first assist.
Wofford dominated the half and outshot the Dolphins 7-4 but would go into the half still holding a 1-0 advantage.
In the second half, Jaramillo would score his second of the match in the 51st minute, when he received a pass from Davis 14 yards out, took a touch, and fired a shot from 12 yards into the lower left corner of the goal. The goal was Jaramillo’s third of the season, making the score 2-0.
Wofford created many more opportunities and capitalized once again in the 68th minute, when senior defender Billy Padula’s long throw-in found Davis, who headed the ball from inside the 6-yard box into the net, making the score 3-0. For Davis, the goal was his team-high fourth goal of the season.
Jacksonville would create some opportunities late in the match and finally score a goal in the 88th minute, when freshman midfielder Jack Burns rifled a shot inside the 6-yard box off a driven pass from junior forward Matheus Saroli, making the final score 3-1.
For the match, the Terriers outshot the Dolphins 18-9, while Jacksonville won the corner battle 7-3.
In goal for Wofford, freshman Joe Wichmann earned his second victory of the season, facing nine Dolphins shots and made one save. For Jacksonville, Meny fell to his second loss of the season, facing 18 Terrier shots and making five saves.
The Wofford men’s soccer team will be back in action on Wednesday when it travels across town to face USC Upstate at 7 p.m. The next home match at Snyder Field is on Saturday, Sept. 21, when the Terriers host their first Southern Conference game of the year against the Davidson Wildcats. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Davidson 1, Longwood 0
FARMVILLE, Va. – Alec Rotunda broke a scoreless tie with an 82nd-minute header to lift Davidson to a 1-0 victory over Longwood in nonconference men's soccer action Saturday afternoon at The Athletics Complex.
Off to their longest unbeaten streak to begin a season since 1982 (9-0-4), the Wildcats improved to 4-0-1, while the Lancers fell to 1-2-1.
Rotunda's first career game-winner and second strike in as many contests was the result of a well-executed corner by Alex Feliciano.
Davidson, which controlled a majority of the possession, outshot the Lancers, 14-5, while holding an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Matt Pacifici stopped the only shot on goal en route to his second shutout of the young season.
Davidson returns home to Alumni Stadium on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest against Duke.
Elon 3, UNCW 1
ELON, N.C. – Behind a pair of goals and an assist from junior forward Jason Waterman, the Elon men’s soccer team earned its fourth straight victory as the Phoenix defeated UNCW, 3-1, on Saturday night at Rudd Field.
Waterman was the driving force offensively for Elon (4-0-1) and helped the Maroon and Gold to a win in its 2013 home opener against the Seahawks (3-2). Elon held a slim advantage in shots (12-11) but outshot the Seahawks 6-2 in the opening half. UNCW had a 6-4 overall lead in corners but none were converted into points for the Seahawks.
Waterman scored his first goal of the match off a Daniel Lovitz cross into the box, which he put past the keeper to give Elon a 1-0 lead at the 29th minute.
Later in the half, Waterman played a ball from Nick Butterly and took it down the right side of the field and found Matt Wescoe racing down the middle of the box. Wescoe sent a nice touch pass to Lovitz on the left side and converted a shot from 10 yards out that gave Elon a 2-0 edge over UNCW at the 34th minute.
The score would remain unchanged for the remainder of the opening stanza, but Elon quickly tacked on to the score just minutes after the start of the second period. In the 47th minute, Waterman took a cross from Wescoe on the right side of the box and fired a shot that initially hit the right post, but the ball trickled across the line to push the Phoenix’s advantage to 3-0.
UNCW did not go away quietly as the Seahawks turned up the offensive pressure and nearly had some shots go their way. A score by UNCW’s Mateo Cardona in the 77th minute finally put the Seahawks on the board and trimmed the score to 3-1.
Despite the 9-6 shot advantage for the Seahawks in the second half, UNCW could not cut the score any closer as Elon moved forward with the win in front of its home fans for the first time all season.
Elon returns to the home pitch on Tuesday as the Phoenix welcomes No. 15 Wake Forest to Rudd Field for a 7 p.m. match. The Phoenix upset the then-13th-ranked Demon Deacons, 1-0, in last year’s meeting in Elon.
Appalachian State 1, USC Upstate 1 (2OT)
BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State earned a draw with the Spartans of USC Upstate in a two-overtime match at Appalachian Soccer Stadium on Saturday evening, 1-1.
Appalachian State would go into halftime tied with the Spartans, 0-0. The best chance for the Mountaineers would see a team save from the Spartans on a would-be goal from Stanley Broaden.
The first score of the game would be tallied by the Spartans’ Dave Musambi in the 49th minute on a shot outside the box that was able to beat Mountaineer starting goalkeeper Danny Free diving to his right.
Free would make two saves on the night.
The opportunities for the Mountaineers were certainly plentiful. Appalachian led in shots 14-7 and shots on target 4-3. The most staggering thing offensively for Appalachian State was how many corner kicks they were able to produce. In all, they would take 18 corner kicks to the Spartans’ two.
The offensive push for the Mountaineers would pay off when Luke Adams sent a ball up the near side that connected with the foot of Trey Hemphill. Hemphill would make a nice move going to his left, ripping a shot that would be the equalizer the Mountaineers were looking for. The rocket off Hemphill’s foot would beat Hassan El-Haddad to tie the score 1-1 in the 75th minute.
Haddad earned the start for the Spartans and made two saves.
The goal from Hemphill would eventually send the game into what would turn out to be two overtime periods. The Mountaineers outshot the Spartans 6-1 in the 20 minutes of overtime.
The Mountaineers will be participating in the Lipscomb Invitational beginning next Friday in Nashville, Tenn. They will play host Lipscomb on Friday and then Belmont on Sunday, Sept. 22. Kickoff on Friday is set for 7 p.m., while Sunday is set for 2 p.m.
Coastal Carolina 4, No. 15 UNCG 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Despite a goal and an assist from senior forward Brian Graham, the No. 15 UNCG men’s soccer team dropped a hard-fought 4-2 decision to visiting Coastal Carolina on Saturday night in front of 1,277 fans at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Coastal Carolina, which is receiving votes in the national polls, opened the scoring in the 16th minute of play. Ricky Garbanzo ripped a shot from 12 yards out that redshirt goalkeeper Stephen Moffitt was able to make a diving save on, but the rebound bounced out to the back post, where Agust Arnarson pounced on the ball and put it into the back of the net for the early 1-0 lead.
The Spartans tied the game in the 26th minute of action, when junior David Reittinger was able to win the ball in the midfield and send Graham in behind the Coastal Carolina defense. Graham took the ball in front of on-charging Chanticleer goalkeeper Devin Cook and chipped it over his head, dropping it softly into the goal for his first of the season.
UNCG looked like it would go into the locker room tied after 45 minutes, but Coastal Carolina scored a late goal in the half as Pedro Ribeiro scored off a corner kick for the 2-1 lead. The Chanticleers used that momentum to open the second half and were awarded a penalty kick in the 49th minute after a UNCG handball in the box. Garbanzo stepped up and placed the shot into the back of the net for the 3-1 lead.
After Coastal Carolina took a 4-1 lead, the Spartans started to press down the stretch and their pressure led to a goal in the 70th minute. Graham sent a through ball from the 20 yards out diagonally that found forward Dustin Gamradt behind the defense. Gamradt deftly poked the shot past Cook for his first goal of the season and second of his career to make it a 4-2 game.
The Spartans looked primed to make it a one-goal game shortly after their second goal. Graham again got behind the Coastal Carolina defense and tangled with Cook one-on-one. He was able to get around the diving goalkeeper and hit a shot that was saved off the line by a Chanticleer defender to thwart the comeback bid.
Moffitt posted three saves in the loss in his fifth career start, while Cooke picked up one save but was helped by the crucial team save down the stretch.
UNCG returns to action Tuesday night as it travels to nationally ranked Clemson. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on the road.