Wofford 2, Davidson 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Freshman forward Matthew Aurednik scored the game-winning goal and assisted on the first as the Wofford men’s soccer team defeated the Wildcats of Davidson College 2-1 in the Terriers’ Southern Conference opener Saturday evening.
With the win, Wofford won its fourth straight and improved to 4-3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Southern Conference. Davidson fell to 4-2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The first half got off to a quick start for the Terriers as senior forward Chase West had an opportunity, stealing the ball away from the back line, but his shot saved in the third minute of the match. The Wildcats then responded quickly in the seventh minute, when Jake Keator had a shot that was saved by Wofford’s freshman goalkeeper, Garrett Closs.
Wofford would create another chance again in the 24th minute, when West forced Wildcat goalkeeper Andrew Kenneson to make a save.
Both teams continued to battle it out, but the score remained deadlocked at 0-0 going into halftime. For the half, the Terriers outshot the Wildcats 9-4.
In the second half, Wofford would get off to a cracking start when sophomore midfielder Will Puckett hit a screaming shot from 25 yards into the top left corner of the net in the 51st minute giving the Terriers the 1-0 advantage. Aurednik would tab his third assist for the season on the goal by Puckett.
In the 55th minute, Aurednik would strike a beauty to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead. Aurednik dribbled the ball just outside the 18-yard box and place a well-struck curving ball into the top right corner of the net. It was the first career goal for the freshman from Lexington, S.C.
Davidson would respond in the 59th minute to bring the game back within one when Valeriy Sviderskiy scored his fourth goal of the season off a pass from Max Pragnell to make the score 2-1.
Both teams continued to create chances. The Wildcats had a great opportunity to tie the game in the 81st minut,e when Keator had a shot from inside the 18-yard box that was saved by Closs. Wofford’s final chance to extend its lead came in the 87th minute, when junior forward Benny Puetter had a shot off a pass that missed just wide of the goal.
For the match, the Terriers outshot the Wildcats 20-11 and had the advantage in corners, 7-2.
In goal, Closs earned his first career victory, improving his season record to 1-3-0 overall. He faced 11 Davidson shots and made four saves. For the Wildcats, Kenneson fell to his first loss of the year, moving to 1-1-0 overall. He faced 20 Terrier shots and made six saves.
The Wofford men’s soccer team returns to the pitch on Saturday, Sept. 28, when it hosts nonconference opponent North Florida at Snyder Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
UNCG 2, UNCW 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men’s soccer team picked up a hard-fought 2-0 victory over visiting instate foe UNCW at the UNCG Soccer Stadium on Saturday. The Spartans scored two second-half goals during torrential rains, which rolled into the Triad during halftime and continued the final 45 minutes.
In the 81st minute of play, UNCG sophomore Noah DeAngelo was a sent down the right-hand side by a long ball and his speed created an opening to send a cross into the box. Senior forward Brian Graham was making a back-post run, and, knowing chances were at a premium in the game, took a diving header at the ball, sending it past UNCW goalkeeper Sean Melvin into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
UNCW had its backs to the wall down a goal with less than 10 minutes remaining, so the Seahawks tried to push forward in the closing minutes. The Spartans took advantage as the UNCW defenders pushed forward when Oddur Gudmundsson won the ball in the midfield and quickly sent a long ball up to sophomore forward Dustin Gamradt, who was in behind the defense. Gamradt took the perfect outlet pass and was in alone on the UNCW goalkeeper. He waited for Melvin to make a play on the ball and poked it past the on-charging goalkeeper into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.
The Spartans and Seahawks went into the halftime locker room in a scoreless tie as the two teams each notched seven shots in the first 45 minutes. UNCG held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks and had its best scoring chances in the light rain come off those set pieces.
The torrential rain moved into the area as play began in the second half and slowed the play of the game for most of the second half. UNCW had its best chance of the game late in the half in the 78th minute of play as Jamie Dell found space from 10 yards out and ripped a shot toward goal, but redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Stephen Moffitt made a diving stop to keep the game knotted at 0-0.
The save ignited the Spartans on the field and on the bench as they noticeably took control of the tempo from that point forward.
The victory moved the Spartans to 4-3-0 on the season and snapped a three-game skid for UNCG, which had opened the season with three straight victories. Moffitt recorded two saves in the victory on his way to his fourth shutout of the season.
The Spartans continued their three-game home stretch this week, hosting Winthrop and Longwood in nonconference play. UNCG welcomes in Winthrop on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.