Furman 2, North Florida 1 (OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sophomore Lewis Hawke drilled a shot past North Florida goalkeeper Tord Pederson in the first overtime period to lift Furman to a 2-1 victory over the Ospreys in game two of the Diadora/Spinx Gray Griffin Memorial Tournament on Friday evening on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium.
Bobby Edet won a corner kick for the Paladins with less than two minutes left in the first 10-minute overtime and Kevin Pahl curled the set piece to an unmarked Hawke on the near side of the box. Hawke settled the ball and rocketed a shot over the shoulder of Pederson from a tight angle to set off a wild celebration at the 98:27 mark as the Paladins sprinted across the field to celebrate in front of the late Gray Griffin’s No. 12 jersey, which had been retired prior to the match.
The victory improved Furman to 2-1-0 on the season, while North Florida suffered its first defeat of 2014 to dip to 2-1-0.
Furman opened the scoring less than seven minutes into the second half when sophomore Evan De Ycaza finished from the right side of the box on an assist from Eli Pinner to cap a Paladin counterattack. Pinner received a clearing pass and sprinted through the midfield before sliding a pass to De Ycaza, who netted his first goal of the season at 51:41.
North Florida leveled the match following a corner kick less than four minutes later. Simen Solstad played his corner kick to Helge Pietschmann before receiving the ball back near the end line on the left side. Solstad lofted the ball toward the far post and into the corner at 55:13 to tally his third goal of the year.
Junior goalkeeper Sven Lissek helped put the Paladins in position to win with several saves, including a pair of one-v-one stops. Pederson turned away two shots in the loss.
The Paladins posted an 11-8 edge in shot attempts, while North Florida managed a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal and won nine corner kicks to Furman’s eight.
In the opening match of the tournament, College of Charleston (1-2-0) scored on either side of halftime to claim a 2-0 victory over Georgia State (0-2-0).
Between Friday’s games, Furman head coach Doug Allison presented Al Griffin, the father of Gray Griffin, with Gray’s framed No. 12 jersey and the permanent retired jersey was unveiled in Stone Stadium. Griffin passed away following a traffic accident in 2002 during his freshman season as a defender for the Paladins.
The Diadora/Spinx Gray Griffin Memorial Tournament continues on Sunday with North Florida battling College of Charleston at 1 p.m. and Furman facing off against Georgia State at 3:30 p.m.
VMI 1, UNC Asheville 0
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Deadlocked and scoreless through the first 63 minutes of a nonconference game with UNC Asheville, the Keydets got what proved to be the game-winning goal from junior Andrew Starnes in the 64th minute, lifting VMI over the Bulldogs 1-0.
Starnes, who hails from Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, collected a long pass from classmate Eric Friese. Starnes got around his defender and went one-on-one with the Bulldogs’ keeper, Dan Jackson, depositing his shot by the left post. That goal proved to be the winner, despite several close calls by Asheville.
While the game was scheduled to be played at UNC Asheville’s Greenwood FIeld, the contest was moved to nearby T.C. Roberson High School, which features an artificial surface. VMI freshman Campbell Wood was a three-year varsity letterwinner at T.C. Roberson.
Earning the first clean sheet of his career, junior Zach Kaplan made four saves in the game, including three in the second half. Several times down the stretch, Bulldogs pelted the VMI goal only to be turned away by Kaplan, while one shot went off the left post and another just over the crossbar. Jackson made five saves in goal for Asheville but suffered the first loss of his season.
VMI (1-2-0) earned its fifth straight win over the Bulldogs, despite being out-shot 15-12. Asheville ripped off eight shots in the second half, paired with seven in the first, while VMI split its attempts between periods.
En route to the team’s first shutout since a 1-0 win over UNC Asheville on Oct. 26, 2013, the Keydets took four corner kicks, all coming in the second stanza. Asheville (1-1-1) earned three, with two in the second half.
The Keydets were whistled offside twice, while Asheville was caught once. VMI committed 11 fouls as Asheville had eight. VMI’s Hunter Morgan was booked for a yellow card in the 88th minute.
VMI is idle until next Friday, when it hosts the Jay Sculley Memorial Tournament. Joining the Keydets at Patchin Field will be Liberty University, USC Upstate and Robert Morris University. Liberty and Robert Morris open the tournament at 1 p.m., followed by the Keydets and USC Upstate at 3 p.m.
James Madison 1, UNCG 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss Friday to visiting James Madison at the UNCG Soccer Stadium, the Spartans’ third one-goal game of the season. James Madison scored the game’s lone goal in the 78th minute of action and held off UNCG for the victory.
The Spartans came into the game averaging 19 shots per game this season and were only able to post seven shots in the 90 minutes of action in the slow-paced contest. UNCG had its best chance in the early going in the 13th minute as freshman Tommi Gardarsson sent a cross into the box, where classmate Moises Gonzales got his head on the ball but pushed it just over the crossbar.
UNCG generated another strong chance in the 37th minute of action as junior Jacques Francois got the ball at the top of the 18-yard box. Francois dribbled through three JMU defenders and found a little space before ripping a shot that glanced off the defender and sailed just outside the post.
James Madison had its best chance early in the second half in the 48th minute of action as the Dukes sent a long cross into the box. Josh Grant was in some space and ripped a header off the crossbar to keep the game tied at 1-1.
The teams traded half chances for most of the second half until James Madison scored the game’s lone goal in the 78th minute of play. Francisco Narbon sent a long ball down the left-hand side, where Joe Vyner was able to bring it down. Vyner took a step from 25 yards out and ripped a bending shot past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Davis Griffin and into the side netting for the game-winning tally.
The Spartans return to action Tuesday night as they host No. 21 Charlotte in a nonconference rivalry. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium and admission is free.