ROCK HILL, S.C. - Blake Wilson and reigning SBC Offensive Player of the Week Javier Carbonell capitalized on a defensive miscue in the waning moments, scoring the go-ahead goal with just 38 seconds left on the clock to give Georgia Southern men's soccer a 2-1 non-conference road win over Winthrop on Tuesday evening.
The win was the fourth in the last five matches for the Eagles from Statesboro as Georgia Southern improved to 4-3 on the season, while the home-standing Winthrop Eagles fell to 2-4-1 overall on the year.
Winthrop came into the match unblemished at home, without a single goal conceded, and the first half saw that trend continue as neither team could dent the scoreboard before the break. Georgia Southern enjoyed a 6-2 edge in shots in the first half.
In the second half, the Eagles started to put the pressure forward, putting a header into the back of the net in the 64th minute, but an offsides call wiped away the goal. Aldair Cortes forced a save from Winthrop goalkeeper Kenneth Perkinson in the 75th minute and a follow-up try by Sebastian Gregerson went wide.
The home team would strike first moments later, however, as Evan Stout's one-time shot from a Nil Vinyals cross struck home for the 1-0 Winthrop lead.
Less than a minute later, however, Carbonell would equalize for Georgia Southern. A foul on Winthrop gave the junior Spaniard a terrific look at goal from 22 yards out, and Carbonell struck a free kick into the lower far post for his first goal of the season.
The visiting Eagles continued to ramp up the pressure, getting a header on goal by Emil Laursen in the 82nd minute and a shot from Carbonell that went just wide left in the 88th minute.
With under a minute left to play, a failed clearance by Winthrop was pounced upon by Carbonell, who dribbled to the end line, then flipped a pass back to the top of the six, where Wilson finished for the game-winner with only 38 ticks left on the clock. The goal was the third of the year for the senior, and all three of his goals this season have been game-winners for the Eagles.
"It was just like you would imagine it would be, scoring the winner in the last minute," Head Coach John Murphy said. "Tonight's match was very hard fought and difficult for us. I was impressed with Winthrop and their style of play at home. They scored first, but we came back to equalize relatively quickly, and I felt for the last 15 minutes we had a real grip on the game and found a way to win."
Georgia Southern finished the match with a 15-5 edge in shots. Each team notched five corner kicks on the evening, with all five of Georgia Southern's corners coming in the second half. Robert Flott made a pair of saves in net for Georgia Southern, while Kenneth Perkinson made three saves in net for Winthrop. Each team was whistled for 11 fouls and Winthrop was offsides seven times, compared to four for Georgia Southern.
"Credit to our team's fitness levels against a good team on the road," Murphy said. "Javi [Carbonell] was a standout for sure, and Blake scoring the winner for us was deserved as he ran the channels well tonight and held up the ball. Everyone put in a real shift, it was not an easy game for us. Now we will rest and recover and get ready for a great in-state rival in Mercer on Saturday."
The Eagles will host the Bears at 7 p.m. at Eagle Field in their next action back in Statesboro.
PANTHERS SHUTOUT PRESBYTERIAN
What you need to know:
* The Panthers opened their third shutout of the season with a 2-0 win over Presbyterian.
* Senior Rashid Alarape both goals, his third game-winner this season.
* The team will return to the field Saturday at the College of Charleston.
CLINTON, S.C.- The Georgia State men’s soccer team opened the first of a three-match road stretch with a 2-0 shut-out of Presbyterian. Rashid Alarape scored the game-winner for the second match in-a-row and third time this season.
With the win, the Panthers improved to 5-3 and the Blue Hose fell to 2-4-1.
GSU opened the match strong on both sides of ball, holding Presbyterian to one shot while firing seven but two Blue Hose saves kept GSU off the board. Kwaku Adu-Boahene posted three shots in the first half to lead the team.
Georgia State came out of the half looking to get on the board first. Alarape put GSU up 1-0 halfway through the second half, scoring off a corner kick from Hannes Burmeister in the 61st minute. The senior forward put the game away at the 65-minute mark of another corner from Burmeister.
The Panthers outshot Presbyterian 19-2, with Alarape firing four.
"It was a great win against a tough opponent at a tricky venue," head coach Brett Surrency said. "The coaches at Presbyterian have done a great job turning the program around and we certainly had to earn the win tonight. Rashid has been big for us this season and we're excited to see his goal streak continue."
The team will return to the field Saturday at College of Charleston. Live stats will be available at GeorgiStateSports.com.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSUMensSoccer) for the latest news and updates.
Second-Half Goals Lead Hawks Over Siena, 2-1
ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick scored twice in the second half and held on late to down Siena College 2-1 on Elmore Field on Tuesday night. ’Wick has now won four straight games to get its record on the plus side at 4-3 for the season.
Johnny McBeth (Glasgow, Scotland/Upper Iowa University) opened the scoring in the 62nd minute and Jamie O’Grady (Falkirk, Scotland/Falkirk HS) added an insurance marker with less than nine minutes left. The Saints got on the scoreboard after earning a penalty with two and a half minutes to play to cut their deficit in half but the Hawks kept them out the rest of the way for the victory.
Siena (1-3-3) had the first clear chance of the match as Conor McGlyn forced a diving save by Hartwick keeper Lenny Wilson (Aberdeen, Scotland/Cults Academy). The Saints got possession of the rebound and Wilson denied another opportunity from Alexander Tejera to keep the game even.
O’Grady and Hamish Ritchie (Aberdeen, Scotland/Aboyne Academy) both had shots on target later in the half but both were saved by Siena goalkeeper Aleksa Radosavljevic and the first 45 minutes ended in a stalemate.
The Hawks broke through at the 61:41 mark of the match. After two shots in front were blocked by Saint defenders, the ball came to Ritchie who played a ball back into the box. McBeth was there to fire to the far corner for his first goal of the season.
Less than a minute later, Siena nearly even the contest. Tommaso Centemero rifled a shot from in close that smacked the crossbar and bounced straight down close to the goal line but the Hawks cleared it out for a corner.
In the 82nd minute, Hartwick got its second tally after Harry Morton (Napier, New Zealand/Te Aho O Te Kura Pounamu) played a short ball to the outside for Kyle Honor (Setrauket, NY/Ward Melville HS). He served the ball back across in the middle of the box to an awaiting O’Grady who made no mistake beating Radosavljevic for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
Siena converted its late penalty from Tejera but the Hawks didn’t allow a chance for an equalizer in the final 2:31 to close the match out.
The Hawks finished the game with a slim 11-10 edge in shots. Both teams earned seven corners.
Wilson ended with seven saves for Hartwick. Radosavljevic made four stops for Siena.
’Wick will take its four-game winning streak on the road to Philadelphia on Saturday, September 23 for a match with La Salle. Kickoff is 7 p.m.