Wofford 4, ETSU 3
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s soccer team prevailed in an offense-heavy match, 4-3, over ETSU on Tuesday night at Snyder Field.
Forward Matthew Aurednik scored his second goal of the match at the 60:06 mark for what proved to be the game-winner. Senior defender Ryan Hurst started the break from the right side with a perfect cross in to junior midfielder Connor Davis. Davis headed the ball goal-bound before the attempt was blocked away. Aurednik dove head-first into the ball, sinking it into the back right netting to give Wofford (5-3-0, 1-0-0 Southern Conference) a 4-2 advantage heading into the final 30 minutes of play.
Aurednik’s goals were his sixth and seventh of the year. The sophomore has netted four in his last two outings.
ETSU (4-4-0, 0-1-0) did not go down without a fight. In the 74th minute of the match, Jorge De Gyves sent a long ball up the right side to Robin L’Excellent. L’Excellent drew sophomore keeper Garrett Closs out of position, beating him in the bottom left corner of the goal. The Buccaneers would make a few more runs toward goal but couldn’t find the difference maker.
The match opened with a flurry of offense, both teams scoring twice in the first 18 minutes of action.
The Bucs started the scoring frenzy, with Nick Muth finding the back of the net in the fifth minute. Senior midfielder Jeremy Saad threw the ball inbounds to sophomore forward William Nordenstrom. Nordenstrom headed the ball up to Muth, who knocked it home with a strong knee.
Aurednik would strike back four minutes later for the Terriers. Kevin Hady settled a ball 25 yards out on the left side of the field. The junior defender sailed the ball into the box near the far post, where Aurednik launched a diving header past redshirt freshman Daniel Adelmen for the equalizer.
The Bucs’ Joao Ramalho put the visitors in the lead again in the16th minute, firing a ball from the left outside of the box into the top-right corner. Two minutes later, Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez sent a corner in to the box, where Charlie Keeley slammed a header in to the bottom left corner for his second career goal.
Junior midfielder Connor Davis found the final goal of the first 45 minutes. The goal bared resemblance to the Terriers’ first goal of the match, with junior forward Nestor Jaramillo sending the cross in from the left this time. Davis buried the ball with a strong header, giving the Terriers a 3-2 lead into halftime. Both sides would score once more before the final whistle blew.
Wofford outshot ETSU 17-12, while the Bucs earned six corner kicks to the Terriers’ three. The two squads had 21 fouls, with the count lopsided; Wofford 17, ETSU four. ETSU’s Corentin Ohlmann, Wofford’s Will Puckett and Dominguez-Gonzalez each received yellow cards.
Closs had four saves in the 90 minutes, advancing his record to 4-3-0 on the season. The loss dropped Adelman to 4-4-0 despite a six-save performance.
The Terriers now prepare for a two game roadstand, starting on Saturday in Greensboro, N.C. Wofford will play UNCG (0-7-2, 0-0-1) at the UNCG Soccer Stadium, with kickoff at 7 p.m.
ETSU will continue SoCon play as the Bucs host former Atlantic Sun running mate Mercer on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. before hosting SoCon newcomer VMI on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m.
No. 24 Furman 0, UNCG 0 (2OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 24 Furman outshot UNCG 24-10, but the Paladins were forced to settle for their third consecutive 0-0 draw in the Southern Conference opener for both schools on Tuesday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The Paladins moved to 4-1-3 overall and 0-0-1 in SoCon play while running their shutout streak to five matches and their unbeaten run to seven outings. It marked the first time in school history that Furman had played three straight scoreless matches and the five-match shutout streak for the Paladin defense marked the fifth such run in school history. UNCG moved to 0-7-2 overall and 0-0-1 in the league.
Junior goalkeeper Sven Lissek notched his fifth straight shutout and sixth clean sheet of the 2014 campaign by making three saves in the second overtime period. Freshman William Pyle, making this third straight start, earned the shutout for the Spartans with a career-high seven stops.
Eli Pinner and Tyler Peoples forced Pyle into saves on long-range shots in the opening half hour, but Furman’s best chance in the first half came at the 31:38 mark, when sophomore Lewis Hawke headed a cross from the right wing off of the crossbar.
Furman’s Marco Ortiz and Dylan Rowe forced Pyle into saves early in the second half before Eric Gunnarsson nearly put the Spartans in front in the 79th minute with a header from inside 6 yards off of a corner kick, but his shot banged off of the crossbar and over the goal.
After a first overtime period that saw UNCG’s Aaron Reifschneider sent off to put Furman a man up and a lone Paladin shot on goal from Adrian McInnis, the Spartans applied the pressure in the final 10 minutes. Christopher Reingen hit the left post with a header in the 102nd minute for the 10-man Spartans and Lissek dove to his right to stop a Corey Croegaert rebound effort from close range. In the final four minutes, Austin Miller and Gunnarsson tested Lissek, but the Furman keeper came away with two more stops to extend his shutout streak to more than 544 minutes.
Furman plays its first conference road contest on Saturday when it travels to Lexington, Va., to face VMI. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
The Spartans will open the home portion of their SoCon schedule Saturday night as they host Wofford. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium and admission is free. The game is part of the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame weekend as UNCG will induct the 1985, 1986 and 1987 men’s soccer national championship teams with an afternoon ceremony at The Terrace at the Greensboro Coliseum. The teams will be recognized at halftime of the Spartans’ game against the Terriers and a free fireworks show will follow the game.
Virginia Tech 5, VMI 0
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Despite the quick trip down Interstate 81, the Virginia Military Institute men’s soccer team fell at high-octane Virginia Tech on Tuesday evening. The Hokies scored four goals in the first half en route to a 5-0 decision in nonconference action at Thompson Field.
The Hokies (7-3-0), who are ranked ninth in the NSCAA’s South Region, got two goals from Merlin Baus, while Som Essome had three points on a goal and one assist. Rodrigio Zampieri and James Compton accounted for Virginia Tech’s remaining two goals, while Jonathan Cruickshan, Brad Vorv and Forrest White had one assist apiece.
VMI (1-7-1) was limited to three shots, none of which were on goal. Hunter Morgan had VMI’s best chance in the 62nd minute but the opportunity sailed just over the crossbar. Alec Rich and Dan Geyer added one shot apiece. Conversely, Virginia Tech fired 25 shots, putting 10 on goal. White had a game-high four five shots while Ricardo John had four chances, three of which hit the Keydet crossbar.
Both teams’ keepers played all 90 minutes. Ben Lundgaard was not forced to make a save in the Hokie goal, while VMI’s Alex Guerra made four stops, with two in each stanza. VMI’s backs were credited with a team save, as well.
The 31st all-time meeting between the programs saw a combined 13 fouls, 10 of which were against VMI. The Hokies earned nine corner kicks, including six in the second half, while the Keydets earned just one in the second 45 minutes.
VMI returns to Southern Conference action on Saturday with longtime foe Furman University, which received votes in the most recent NSCAA/Continental Tire Top 25. Game time for the 26th meeting all-time with Paladins is set for 2 p.m. at Patchin Field. The league game will be streamed live and free through the SoCon Digital Network.