Wofford Edges Men's Soccer In Final Minutes

Saturday, October 24

Davidson, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Davidson College

10-5-0, 3-3SoCon

Wofford

8-1-3, 4-0-1SoCon

Wofford

Davidson

SoCon scoring leader Charlie Reiter was among seven Davidson seniors honored prior to the final home match of the season.

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

10/24/2009 10:33:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Mark Brumbaugh

DAVIDSON, N.C. – A late goal with less than three minutes remaining was the difference as Wofford took a 1-0 victory over Davidson men's soccer in a hard-fought Southern Conference match in front of 1,714 fans on Saturday night in Alumni Stadium.

Wofford's Kentrel Owens was able to take advantage of a misplayed ball near midfield and score at 87:37. Owens raced in on goal and was able to maintain control despite a strong challenge from Davidson's defenders. Sophomore goalkeeper Chip Sanders (Thomasville, Ga.) came out to challenge the shot and was able to disrupt Owens' attempt, but Owens was able to regain control and score from about 10 yards out.

“It was a tremendous Southern Conference match in a great environment with the large crowd and senior night,” said Davidson head coach Matt Spear. “Unfortunately we did not play our best tonight. Wofford deserves a lot of credit though, as they executed their game plan well and were able to score a late, opportunistic goal.”

The match was the home finale for the 'Cats as their remaining three regular season games will be on the road. The Wildcats' Class of 2010, composed of D Liam Bracken, GK Robby Goldsberry, MF/D Christian Hambleton, D Tim Roark, F Charlie Reiter, F Clinton Smith and F Machel Turner was honored before the match.

Wofford extended their Southern Conference lead, improving to 8-1-3, 4-0-1 in the conference. The Wildcats now stand at 10-5-0, 3-3 in the SoCon, good for third place.

The 'Cats had opportunities early. Freshman MF Brian McGue had a pair of headers just miss in the first half. The first was crossed into the six-yard box and sailed just left of the post. Redshirt-freshman Allen Page nearly tallied with a header at 17:01, just missing high.

“Those were great opportunities for us to get off to the start that we wanted,” said Spear. “We had the right organization and setup, but unfortunately we were not able to finish them off.”

Davidson played well defensively throughout the match, allowing just one shot on goal. The 'Cats put three shots on goal for the game against the Southern Conference's top defense. Wofford held a slim 10-9 advantage in shots, while corner kicks were even at four.

“It's unfortunate that we were not able to earn the win, but there is a lot to learn from this match and plenty to look forward to,” said Spear.

Davidson will face their strongest test of the season on Tuesday when they travel face to No. 3 Wake Forest. The 'Cats are 1-1 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents this season after defeating then-No. 6 Duke before falling to Virginia Tech. Davidson is 2-0 against nationally-ranked opponents this season, also earning a win over No. 25 South Carolina.