No. 5 Clemson 3, Furman 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Clemson netted two goals in the final nine minutes of the first half and Furman failed to capitalize on several opportunities in the second half as the Tigers downed the Paladins, 3-0, before a crowd of 2,945 Tuesday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With the victory, Clemson snapped Furman’s three-game series winning streak and improved to 4-1-1 on the season. The Paladins fell to 1-2-2.
After both teams controlled their share of possession in the midfield during the first half, Clemson broke through in the 37th minute. A ball over the top led to a foul at the top of the Furman box and a yellow card shown to the Paladins’ Kyle McLagan. T.J. Casner stepped up and wrapped his low, driving shot around the Furman wall and into the right-hand corner at 36:38 to put Clemson on top, 1-0.
Just 37 seconds later, Iman Mafi found Kyle Murphy streaking down the left channel. Murphy ran onto Mafi’s pass and fired a one-timer that beat Paladin goalkeeper Jonathan Smith, who had replaced Sven Lissek due to injury in the 25th minute, and snuck inside the left post at 37:15.
Clemson ended hopes of a second half comeback just 10:24 after the restart when Smith denied Saul Chinchilla on a shot at the right post, but Oliver Shannon controlled the rebound and played a pass to the far post that Austen Burnikel tapped into an empty net to up the Tigers’ lead to 3-0.
Following a sprawling save by Smith in the 70th minute, Furman began to create its own opportunities. Danny Kierath unlocked the Clemson defense on a counter attack with a through ball down the right wing for Evan De Ycaza, but the junior’s shot was deflected wide by Clemson keeper Andrew Tarbell.
In the 72nd minute, freshman Josiah Baker weaved his way through four Tiger defenders and into the left side of the box only to see his shot miss wide. Less than a minute later, Baker sprinted by the Clemson defense to chase down a long ball over the top and was taken down from behind to earn a Furman penalty kick. Marco Carrizales, however, fired high on the spot kick at the 72:17 mark.
Tarbell finished with two saves to earn the victory in net for the Tigers, while Smith stopped four shots in a losing effort for Furman.
Clemson managed a 12-7 edge in shots and 7-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Furman continues its homestand on Friday when it welcomes the Stetson Hatters to Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium. First kick is slated for 7 p.m.
Virginia Tech 2, VMI 1
LEXINGTON, Va. – Hoping to kick off the 2015 home season with a victory, the VMI men’s soccer team lost a close battle with Virginia Tech by a 2-1 score Tuesday afternoon at Patchin Field.
Senior Travis Borkey scored his first goal of the season just five minutes into the game to give the Keydets (0-5) a quick 1-0 advantage, their first lead of the season. To earn the goal, he took a cross from teammates David Harpen and Jonathan Martinez and snuck around a Hokie defender to put the ball into the net.
The goal marked the sixth career score for the Mechanicsville, Virginia, native, who scored two last season and three as a sophomore.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Hokies (3-2) put in a goal at the 8:47 mark just moments later to knot the score at 1 apiece. Tech forward Daniel Lauretano took a pass from Ricardo John just inside the 18 and shot it into the lower right corner for the equalizer.
Goalie Alex Guerra faced 28 Virginia Tech shot attempts throughout the match, picking up a season-high 12 saves in the effort.
With only 15 minutes remaining before the end of regulation and a potential overtime scenario, Tech’s Som Essome took advantage of a Keydet defensive miscue and penetrated deep into VMI territory, approached Guerra’s right side and tapped the ball into the open net from the right side of the box just before going out of bounds.
VMI returns to action Saturday with a 3 p.m. kick against UNC Asheville at Patchin Field.
NC State 2, Wofford 1
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Wofford men’s soccer team allowed two early goals and could not make up the deficit in a 2-1 loss to the NC State Wolfpack on Tuesday night at Dail Field.
Midfielders Julius Duchscherer and Yanni Hachem scored the Wolfpack’s goals. Duchscherer converted a penalty kick in the 10th minute and Hachem followed up his goal three minutes later with a strike from 25 yards out.
Wofford played the Wolfpack tough throughout the match, matching NC State shot for shot. Converting opportunities just did not happen for the Terriers.
Forward Matthew Aurednik came close to giving Wofford a 1-0 lead in the first couple minutes of the match. His shot, however, nailed the crossbar and then bounced in front of the goal line.
It was not until the 74th minute that the Terriers finally broke through. A handball in the box set up a Nestor Jaramillo penalty shot attempt. The midfielder shot right as the keeper dove the wrong direction to make the score 2-1.
The goal was Jaramillo’s third of the season, tying him for the team lead with Aurednik. It was also the 19th of his career, tying him with Wilson Hood on Wofford’s Division I era career goals list.
Terrier goalkeeper Garrett Closs took the loss in the match despite posting eight saves.
The Terriers did have some chances late to even the score, but Wolfpack keeper Alex McCauley prevented any further scores. McCauley earned the victory while notching five saves.
The loss was the first of the season for the Terriers (4-1-1).
The Terriers take a week off before hitting the field again Sept. 22 for a home match against Charlotte. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.