Elon 3, Presbyterian 0
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Sophomore James Brace recorded his first multi-goal game to lead the Elon men’s soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Presbyterian on Sunday to conclude the Hilton Garden Inn Classic, hosted by UNCW.
The Phoenix (3-0-1) went unbeaten over the weekend to earn the tournament championship with its win over the Blue Hose (2-1-0). Elon also extended its regular-season unbeaten streak to eight matches and 11 out of 12 games overall dating back to last season.
Charles Howard was named the tournament’s Offensive MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by Miguel Salzar, Nathan Dean and Myles Mansfield.
Elon held a 12-3 advantage over Presbyterian throughout the match and had an 8-2 gain in corners.
Brace entered Sunday’s match with one career goal, which he scored on Friday in the Phoenix’s 3-2 double-overtime victory against Mercer in the opening game of the tournament. The Hartlepool, England, native put a shot in the back of the net after receiving a cross from Jason Waterman in the seventh minute, but Elon was called offside. A minute later, Brace received a feed from Waterman on the left side of the box and chipped in the easy goal to give Elon an early 1-0 lead.
At the 17th minute, Elon scored its second goal of the match as Cauê Da Silva took a pass from Miguel Salazar down the middle and fired a laser past the Presbyterian keeper for a 2-0 lead.
Three minutes later, Waterman took a pass from Brace in the box and drew a penalty against the Blue Hose’s goalkeeper. Brace converted the following penalty kick and Elon took a commanding 3-0 lead at the 20th minute.
The Maroon and Gold dominated the opening 45 minutes from start to finish, outshooting the Blue Hose 8-1 while holding a slim 1-0 advantage in corners.
The story was more of the same in the second half as Elon kept Presbyterian from making any threat and the match ended 3-0.
Elon keeper Nathan Dean earned his 11th career shutout, moving into sole possession of fourth place all-time on the program’s career list.
Elon returns to the pitch for its home opener on Saturday to host UNCW at Rudd Field. That match is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
Davidson 2, Harvard 1
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Trailing 1-0 with just under 19 minutes to play, Davidson rallied with goals from Ryan Malden and Max Pragnell to come from behind and edge Harvard, 2-1, in nonconference men’s soccer action Sunday afternoon at Ohiri Field.
With the win, the Wildcats remain unbeaten on the young season, improving to 2-0-1, while the Crimson fell to 0-2-0.
Shortly after Harvard’s Ashi Gerberkidane broke the scoreless tie, Malden provided an equalizer in the 73rd minute when his chip into the box from about 30 yards out snuck through the Harvard defense and just across the goal line.
Pragnell, who set up all three goals in the Wildcats’ two results last weekend, couldn’t have picked a better time to net his first collegiate goal. With just over two minutes to play, Chris Pettiglio, playing in front of family and friends, found Pragnell at the top of the box and the freshman put away the game-winner with a low drive past Crimson keeper Brett Conrad.
Backup keeper Andrew Kenneson came up big for the Wildcats in the closing seconds when he turned away a Rodd Friedman header on frame to preserve the win.
Davidson’s Matt Pacifici stopped seven shots and Kenneson blocked three, while Conrad finished with three saves for Harvard.
The Wildcats nearly jumped out to an early lead in the sixth minute when an Alec Rotunda low drive found its way through the box and hit the right post.
The Wildcats finished with an 18-16 edge in shot attempts, while Harvard held the advantage in corner kicks, 7-1.
Davidson returns to Alumni Stadium on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest against in-state foe Campbell.
Wofford 0, Saint Joseph’s 0 (2OT)
PHILADELPHIA – The Wofford men's soccer team tied Saint Joseph’s 0-0 Sunday to move to 0-3-1 overall for the season, while the Hawks moved to 0-1-3 overall.
In the first half, the Terriers had more opportunities to take the lead than the Hawks, outshooting them 4-2 for the half. Wofford had two great opportunities on-goal in the half. The first chance came in the 12th minute, when junior forward Ryan Hurst had a shot saved by the Hawks’ senior goalkeeper, Andrew D’Ottavi. The second opportunity came in the 32nd minute, when sophomore midfielder Nestor Jarmillo had a shot that was also saved.
In the second half, Wofford created many chances with eight total shots in the half. The Terriers’ best opportunity of the half came off a header by junior defender Forrest Lasso that was saved by D’Ottavi.
The Hawks would also create some pressure, having nine shots in the half. Making his first career start, freshman goalkeeper Joe Wichmann was forced to make two saves to keep the game scoreless going into the overtime period.
Wofford had the best opportunity in the first overtime period in the 94th minute when Lasso had another shot that was saved by D’Ottavi. As a result, Wofford would walk away with a 0-0 draw after 110 minutes of play.
For the match, Wofford had the edge in shots 18-14, and had six corner kicks to Saint Joseph’s four.
For Wofford, Wichmann moved to 0-0-1 on the season, earning his first career shutout. He faced a total of 14 Hawks shots and made two saves. For St. Joseph’s, D’Ottavi moved to 0-1-3 on the season and earned his first shutout of the season, facing 18 Terrier shots and making five saves.
Wofford will be back in action on Wednesday at 5 p.m. when it hosts Liberty University for the home opener at Snyder Field.