Furman 3, No. 18 UC Santa Barbara 0
DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. – Sophomore Bobby Edet netted a pair of goals and junior Sven Lissek recorded his first shutout of the season as Furman downed 18th-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 3-0, in men’s soccer action on Sunday afternoon in the College of Charleston’s Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic at Blackbaud Stadium.
Edet, a native of Frisco, Texas, put the Paladins (1-1-0) in front in the 40th minute. After receiving a pass from Eric Steber, the forward fired to the lower right-hand corner at 39:54 for his first tally of 2014.
With the Gauchos applying heavy pressure to the Furman defense in the second half, the Paladins doubled their lead on a long-range effort by sophomore Eli Pinner at the 78:07 mark. The Atlanta, Ga., product made a long run through the UCSB midfield and launched a shot from outside the 18-yard box that beat Gaucho goalkeeper Josh McNeely.
Edet capped the scoring in the 87th minute. Lewis Hawke played the forward into a one-v-one situation with McNeely, and Edet slotted his shot past the keeper for his second goal of the afternoon at the 86:30 mark.
UC Santa Barbara held a 12-7 edge in shots attempts, but the Paladins matched the Gauchos’ four shots on goal in a game that was played in high heat and humidity.
Lissek, who earned NSCAA All-South Region honors last season, stopped four shots, including two over the final 45 minutes, to earn the shutout for Furman. McNeely registered one save for UCSB.
The Paladins return to Seagraves Field and Stone Soccer Stadium to open their home schedule next weekend with the Gray Griffin Memorial Tournament. Tournament play begins on Friday, Sept. 5, with Georgia State battling College of Charleston at 5 p.m., followed by Furman taking on North Florida at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, Charleston and North Florida square off at 1 p.m. with Furman hosting Georgia State at 3:30 p.m.
ETSU 2, VCU 1
RICHMOND, Va. – Redshirt sophomore forward Joao Ramalho continued his torrid scoring pace to start the season, netting two goals as ETSU knocked off host VCU, 2-1, Sunday to complete an unbeaten season-opening weekend and sweep of the VCU Invitational.
Friday, the Bucs (2-0) defeated William & Mary, 3-2. Both William & Mary and VCU received votes in the latest NSCAA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
The Rams (1-1) outshot ETSU, 16-5; however, the Bucs made the most of their scoring chances, converting two of four shots on goal.
Ramalho, who scored two goals in each of ETSU's wins, has been a force offensively, but his contributions on both sides of the pitch helped the Bucs to an unbeaten weekend.
Ramalho has scored four of the Bucs' five goals this season. Sunday, the redshirt sophomore took four of the team's five shot attempts, while senior Nick Muth registered one shot attempt on the afternoon.
Freshman goalkeeper Daniel Adelman made four saves in the win versus VCU. Adleman was en route to earning his first career shutout until the Rams converted an 87th-minute penalty kick.
The performance capped a solid weekend for Adelman, who made nine total saves in the tournament en route to picking up a pair of victories in goal.
With the win, Oshoniyi is off to a 2-0 start as headman of the Bucs' men's soccer program.
Wofford 3, Gardner-Webb 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Wofford College men’s soccer team came out dominant on Sunday afternoon en route to a 3-0 win against Gardner-Webb at Greene-Harbison Stadium.
The match’s game-winner came early, with junior forward Nestor Jarmillo finding a goal in the first five minutes of the game. After a few initial shots, the Terriers found the back of the net when senior Ryan Hurst crossed the ball into the box, where Jaramillo finished the goal near the post to put the Terriers up 1-0.
Matthew Aurednik padded the lead before halftime and Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez added insurance late in the second.
The game marked the end of the SoCon/Big South Challenge. Winthrop’s Jordi Lluch was named the Tournament MVP, while Dominguez-Gonzalez, Jaramillo and senior defender Forrest Lasso were named to the all-tournament team.
The Terriers (1-1-0) controlled Sunday’s matinee throughout, edging out the Runnin’ Bulldogs (0-2-0) in nearly every category. Wofford won the shooting margin 26-8, with 13 shots on goal to Gardner-Webb’s three and eight corners to the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ four. The two teams weren’t shy about contact, drawing 33 fouls between them.
Following the initial goal, Wofford refused to let up the offensive pressure. Jaramillo, Aurednik and Dominguez-Gonzalez all took shots over the next four minutes.
Gardner-Webb had its first try in the 10th minute, when Ali Al-Gashamy ripped a shot from just outside the box. Sophomore keeper Garrett Closs would stifle the shot.
The Terriers would strike again in the 31st minute. Junior midfielder Will Puckett sent a long pass into the field’s attacking third, where Aurednik settled the ball before ripping it into the upper-left corner of the goal from the 18-yard mark for his first score of the season.
The Terriers had two more shots from junior defender Kevin Hady and senior midfielder Pierce Verchick before the end of the half.
It was more of the same in the second half as Wofford continued to apply pressure offensively while remaining firm on defense. The Terriers had multiple offensive runs in the first 15 minutes, with Benny Puetter, Connor Davis, Hurst and Jaramillo all taking shots on goal, but none converting.
The Terriers had another near goal in the 69th minute on a diving header by Davis. The ball found the back of the net but was called back after an offside call.
Wofford put the nail in the coffin in the 79th minute with its third goal of the game. Puckett sent in a corner to Hurst, who settled the ball before passing it low and across to Dominguez-Gonzalez. The senior then buried the goal in the bottom right corner, securing the Terrier win.
Closs (1-1-0) had three important saves to secure his first victory and shutout of the season. Despite 10 saves, Gardner-Webb’s Matthew Swan moved to 0-2-0.
The Terriers play again on Saturday, as they head to Clinton, S.C., to take on in-state opponent Presbyterian College at 2 p.m.
UAB 2, Mercer 1
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to UAB on Sunday night at Bear Field. The Bears (1-1) led for most of the game before the Blazers (2-0) took the lead in the 86th minute.
Nickolas Tripodi scored the first goal of the match off a penalty kick in the 25th minute to give Mercer an early advantage. Despite leading in shots 14-5, UAB didn't find the back of the net until the 77th minute, when Freddy Ruiz fired one to the left corner of the net. The Blazers went up, 2-1, in the 86th minute off a goal from Ian Svantesson.
Between the pipes, senior Greg Ranjitsingh tallied seven saves, including six in the first half. In addition to Tripodi's goal, Jourdan Gooden, Carson Brooks, Jordan Duru and Thomas Glenn all recorded shots for the Bears.
Next up, Mercer travels to Statesboro, Ga., to face Georgia Southern on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m.