STATESBORO, Ga. - Freshmen Aldair Cortes and Jack Rittmeyer executed a perfect give-and-go in the box, with Cortes scoring the game-winning goal in the 77th minute in Georgia Southern's 2-1 collegiate men's soccer victory over visiting Stetson on Tuesday evening in Statesboro.
The Eagles (7-7) halted a two-game slide with the victory, while ending the Hatters' four-game unbeaten streak. The Atlantic Sun Conference regular season champions fell to 7-6-2 on the year with the loss. Georgia Southern returns to Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday, hosting Howard in a 7 p.m. contest at Eagle Field. It will be Senior Day as the Eagles will honor their seniors in a pre-match ceremony.
All of the scoring in the contest came in a frenetic five-minute span late in the second half. The Eagles dominated the first half offensively, outshooting the Hatters by a 12-1 margin, but Stetson goalkeeper Joseph Melong made five saves to keep the match scoreless.
The Eagles broke through in the 73rd minute as a longball into the box came to Melong and Stetson defender Justin Broome. Senior Blake Wilson was able to split the pair of players, win the ball, then score on a quick turnaround shot for the goal, his fourth of the season.
It didn't take long for Stetson to answer as a foul just outside the top of the box set up the Hatters' Eyal Cohen, who put the free kick inside the upper 90 for his first goal of the year in the 76th minute.
Just a minute and 50 seconds later, the pair of Eagle freshman would hook up for the match-winner. Cortes dribbled the ball down the left side and found Rittmeyer at the top of the box. Rittmeyer then touched it back to Cortes in front of the net, and Cortes beat Melong just inside the far post for his third goal of the year and the difference maker.
"I thought t was a well-played match by us," Head Coach John Murphy said. "Stetson were exactly what we thought they were going to be. Organized, competitive and they gave us a very very difficult game. I felt we had a really good grip of it, particularly in the first half. We came out and scored in the second half on a scruffy goal, then they really responded and scored a good equalizer. We had to really fight for it at the end.
"We had a fantastic contribution by the entire team, but particularly Jack [Rittmeyer], a freshman who comes off the bench, creates a good chance for himself, then sets up the winner for his fellow classman Aldair [Cortes] on a great game-winning goal. We needed it. We're a good team, we've played a very competitive schedule, but losing the past two games knocked our confidence a little. But tonight, we're feeling really good, and really proud. It was a great performance for us."
The Eagles put up a season-best 22 shots in the match, compared to five for the Hatters, and goalkeeper Robert Flott made a pair of saves in notching his second shutout of the season. Melong made 10 saves in net for the Hatters. The Eagles enjoyed a 10-2 edge in corner kicks and Georgia Southern was whistled for 15 fouls, compared to eight for Stetson. Georgia Southern was also offsides four times on the night.
Mountaineers Come from Behind to Capture Win in OT
CLINTON, S.C. - A Brady Gunter header in overtime capped off a come-from-behind 2-1 overtime triumph on Tuesday evening against Presbyterian (5-7-2) at Martin Stadium.
Appalachian State University men's soccer (5-6-5) matches last season's win total, while the Mountaineers are 1-0-2 in the previous three matches since going on a three-game skid away from Ted Mack earlier in the season. The Black and Gold are off to a good start on the three-game road trip with a 1-0-1 mark against two highly-potent offenses.
"This was a fantastic come-from-behind win on the road tonight versus a very well-coached team that has had some great results," head coach Jason O'Keefe said after the victory. "We continue to compete, play with grit and get better. We need to recover and get focused on Coastal Carolina Saturday, who just beat No. 2 Maryland on the road, which was a great win for the Sun Belt."
In the 94th minute of the first overtime period, Felix Kollmannthaler found Brady Gunter for what became the first goal of his App career as he headed in the shot to lift the Mountaineers to victory in their final non-conference match of the season.
Presbyterian struck first in the opening stanza when Clement Vannier scored his fourth goal of the season to put the Blue Hose up, 1-0. After coming out of the break trailing 1-0, App State dug in and finally tied up the match in the 66th minute when Parker Washburn also collected the first goal of his Black and Gold career to knot things up, 1-1.
PC's Martin Edo gave the hosts one more chance to take the lead, but Jake Agnew stopped the shot in its tracks to keep the contest tied. The match would end in regulation with a 1-1 tie before App finished the game on the excellent score from Gunter.
App State had just two shots on goal but made both opportunities count with the pair of scores.
Agnew started his third-straight game since the injury, posting one save and his first win of the season. The sophomore has a .57 goals against average with nine stops and a .818 save percentage through his first three starts.
For the season, seven different freshmen have scored for the Apps after tonight's victory, while four of the five game-winning goals this season have come from first-year Mountaineers.
The final road match of the season will be a tough one, as App will head to Conway, S.C. in search of its first Sun Belt win against Coastal Carolina at 1 p.m.
CCU, William & Mary Play to a Draw
Conway - Coastal Carolina and William & Mary played two extra periods, but could not come away with a winner in a 1-1 draw.
It was a match the Chanticleers clearly controlled from the outset, but the visitors were the first to land a blow in the 31st minute as Antonio Bustamante picked up a loose ball in front of the net and was able to score giving the Tribe a 1-0 lead.
That lead did not last long as on the Chanticleers next possession Romario Piggott was able to knock in a rebound off the cross bar to even the score just 49 seconds later. Frantzdy Pierrot was credited with the assist.
CCU out shot W&M 12-4 and 9-2 in corner kicks. Both teams finished with three shots on goal as both goal keepers had two saves for the match.
Next up for CCU will be Sun Belt member Appalachian State Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. It is the final regular season home match for 13 seniors, who will be introduced and honored at 12:45 p.m.
The match can be seen live along with live stats at goccusports.com.
For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMSoccer (twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
PANTHERS DROP TOUGH OVERTIME CONTEST
What you need to know:
* The Panthers fell to the 49ers 4-3 Tuesday night in a tough overtime loss.
* The team is now 10-5-1, with two matches left on its schedule.
* GSU will head to Hartwick Saturday afternoon for its final road match.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The Georgia State men’s soccer team dropped a 4-3 hard-fought match in overtime at Charlotte Tuesday night. Senior Nick Hague scored his first goal of the season, with Max Hemmings and Rashid Alarape also scoring goals.
With the loss, the Panthers fell to 10-5-1 and the 49ers improved to 6-4-4.
Georgia State fell behind quickly, with Charlotte scoring twice in the first 30 minutes. Hague was able to quickly answer, putting GSU on the board in the 30th minute.
The Panthers came out of halftime down 2-1, with Hemmings tying the match at the 49-minute mark. Alarape edged Georgia State ahead in the 53rd minute, with the 49ers knotting the match again three minutes later.
Neither team was able to pull ahead in regulation, forcing an overtime situation. Charlotte put the match away early in extra time, scoring in the 91st minute.
The GSU offense had a solid performance, putting 11 of its 14 shots on target. Alarape led the team with four shots, while three Panthers fired two.
“We’re disappointed in the result but quite pleased with the players,” head coach Brett Surrency said. “It says a lot to battle back from being down 2-0 and take a 3-2 lead. We haven’t had a loss in almost a month so it’s a different feeling but one we will use for motivation as we finish Sun Belt play.”
The Panthers will return to the field Saturday afternoon at Hartwick in the team’s final road match of the regular season.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSUMensSoccer) for the latest news and updates.
Men’s Soccer Tripped Up By Albany, 2-0
ALBANY, NY – Host University at Albany (11-4) scored a goal in each half in a 2-0 victory over Hartwick's men's soccer team on Tuesday night. The Hawks' three-game winning streak is stopped with the setback. They are now 7-7-1 overall.
The Hawks held a 3-1 edge in shots through the opening 25 minutes of action. Johnny McBeth (Glasgow, Scotland/Upper Iowa University) and Kane O'Neill (Lochwinnoch, Scotland/Gryffe HS) had shots that didn't reach the target. Marc Berry (Galashiels, Scotland/Galashiels Academy) registered a header that was saved by Albany's Lucas Vallilo.
The Great Danes opened the scoring in the 26th minute. A Hartwick defender knocked the ball away from an Albany player near the top of the Hartwick box. It was collected by Nico Solabarrieta who snuck his shot just inside the near post for a 1-0 lead.
Less than eight minutes into the second half, the Great Danes doubled their advantage. Solabarrieta sent in a pass for Tommy Quirk inside the box and he put his shot past Lenny Wilson (Aberdeen, Scotland/Cults Academy) for a 2-0 lead for the hosts.
Jamie O'Grady (Falkirk, Scotland/Falkirk HS) had a sliding chance for the Hawks a minute after UA's second tally but his shot went wide of the far post. A crossing pass from Jack Philp (Edinburgh, Scotland/Currie Community HS) 10 minutes later found Cameron Paton (Edinburgh, Scotland/The Royal HS) in front of goal. He needed to reach for the shot to get a foot to it and ultimately put it wide of the goal. Berry provided Hartwick's final shot in the 75th minute but it was blocked.
The Hawks fall to 8-5-3 all-time against Albany. They are 0-4-2 in their last six against the Danes.
Albany had a slim edge in shots in the match, 7-6. Wilson and Vallilo each made only one save in the game.
Hartwick returns to Sun Belt play on Saturday when it hosts Georgia State. The game serves as the Hawks' Senior Day and its Code Blue match.
Bison Suffer Tough Loss Against Knights
WASHINGTON (October 24, 2017) – Coach Phillip Gyau and Howard University Men's Soccer team came up short against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, 2-1, at Greene Stadium.
Despite outshooting the Knights, 19-13, HU was unable to breakthrough until the 74-minute mark when Joel Cunningham delivered the squad's lone goal, assisted by Leeroy Mbuta.
Within the first five minutes, FDU's Rocky Garretson scored on an assist by Josh Schupak, 1-0.
After intermission, the Knights' Jacob Labovitz extended the lead, 2-0.
Saturday, Howard concludes its road schedule at Georgia Southern. Match time is set for 7 p.m. in Statesboro, Ga.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.