Wofford 3, Jacksonville 1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Junior midfielder Connor Copeland’s first career goal proved to be the game-winner as well in Wofford’s 3-1 victory over Jacksonville in Southern Oak Stadium on Friday night.
Copeland received help from senior forward Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez in the goal that set the Terriers ahead for good. The play began as junior defender Kevin Hady sent a corner in that would hit the keeper and post before landing in front of Dominguez-Gonzalez. The forward then passed the ball across to Copeland to put the Terriers ahead in the 24th minute.
Wofford proved too much to handle for the Dolphins, outshooting the squad 14-9, with nine on target to Jacksonville’s two. The clubs broke even in corner attempts, with each team earning five.
Sophomore keeper Joe Wichmann earned his first start of the season Friday, moving to 1-0-0 in the 2014 campaign with one goal allowed in 90 minutes of action. Marc Meny takes the loss, now 1-5-0 on the season.
Scoring began early for the Terriers, with junior midfielder Nestor Jaramillo netting his third goal of the season in the second minute. The play began with senior defender Forrest Lasso ripping a shot on Meny. The keeper blocked the shot but couldn’t keep control. Jaramillo rebounded the ball into the back of the net, putting the Terriers up 1-0.
Jacksonville would score the equalizer in the 21st, as freshman forward Allan Morgan snuck the ball past Wichmann on an assist from Matheus Saroli. Copeland would push the team ahead three minutes later.
Senior midfielder Pierce Verchick solidified the Wofford win in the 86th minute. The Greensboro native scored his first career goal to send the Terriers up 3-1, shooting the ball to the right side of the keeper in an unassisted effort.
Furman 0, Kentucky 0
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- No. 19 Furman recorded its third consecutive shutout and fourth clean sheet this season with a 0-0 draw versus the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday night at the Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington, Ky.
The draw moved the Paladins to 4-1-1 on the season and extended their unbeaten run to five matches. Kentucky moved to 4-2-1.
Paladin goalkeeper Sven Lissek and Kentucky net minder Callum Irving proved to be the difference through 110 scoreless minutes of play on Friday. Irving, who finished with seven saves on the night, made a charging stop on Bobby Edet’s one-v-one opportunity midway through the second half and Lissek pushed the match into overtime with a leaping save to deny Jordan Wilson’s shot of finding the corner as time expired in regulation.
Furman created the better of the chances in overtime and came close to breaking the deadlock with just second remaining in the second extra period. With less than a minute to play in the second overtime, Marco Ortiz flicked a ball off of a Kentucky defender in the box that landed in the path of Lewis Hawke. The sophomore unleashed a driving shot from close range, but Irving redirected the chest-high effort out for a corner kick. As the final 15 seconds ticked off the clock, Furman played a corner kick into the box that Hawke headed from inside the six-yard box, but Irving snagged the shot as time expired.
Kentucky finished with a 13-11 edge in total shots, while the Paladins posted a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. Lissek tallied his third consecutive shutout with three saves.
Evansville 3, Mercer 1
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Mercer men’s soccer team fell, 3-1, to Evansville in the Bears’ first game of the ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic on Friday night.
Mercer took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when Max Poore scored his second goal off a penalty kick this season. Evansville knotted the score, 1-1, in the 32nd minute after the Purple Aces were awarded a penalty kick following a red card on Mercer’s Airrion Blackstock.
The Bears played a man down for the remaining 58:32 of the game. The Purple Aces scored twice in the second half, moving the final score to 3-1 in their favor.
Jourdan Gooden and Ian Antley both fired off two shots for Mercer and goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh made three saves.