Eagle Men’s Soccer Earns Comprehensive 4-1 Win over UNCG

VIDEO: Post-match interview with Sophomore Rocco Bagley
VIDEO: Post-match interview with Junior GK Neal Bates
VIDEO: Post-match interview with Freshman Eric Dinka
VIDEO: Post-match interview with Junior Hunter Norton
VIDEO: Post-match interview with Head Coach Kevin Kennedy

// BOX SCORE // UPDATED STATS (10-16-12) //

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Men’s Soccer ended a 10-game winless streak on Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory over two-time defending Regular Season SoCon Champion UNCG at Eagle Field. Hunter Norton scored twice in the first half to put the Eagles up early while Eric Dinka and Rocco Bagley scored their first career goals in the second half to clinch the win.

“We’ve focused on the process all season, even when things haven’t been going our way, but tonight the goals came for us,” said head coach Kevin Kennedy. “I feel like we played very well tonight defensively, we had a lot of fight tonight and I was very proud of the team tonight. Now we can focus on Saturday’s conference game at Wofford.”

Hunter Norton put the Eagles up 1-0 in the fifth minute by finishing a corner kick attack. The corner was played into the box and headed out to the top of the area by the UNCG defense. Freshman Eric Dinka volleyed the clearance back towards goal where it was saved wide by the Spartan goalkeeper. The rebound came to Norton who scored his second goal of the year into the opposite corner of the net.

The elder Norton put the Eagles 2-0 up in the 33rd minute with his second goal of the evening. He headed home a corner kick from Seth Prieto for his third tally of the season.

Georgia Southern had comprehensive control of the game in the first half, out-shooting UNCG 10-5 and holding a 6-3 lead in shots on goal.

The Spartans responded in the first 10 minutes of the second half with five shots early in the period. That advantage would fade as the eagles forced the back into the attacking third.

Dinka opened his career scoring account just before the hour mark with a tremendous shot across is body. The freshman dribbled across the UNCG back-line at the top of the penalty box, finding enough space to rip the left-footed shot across his body for his first career goal. Senior Aleksandar Tomic was credited with an assist on the play.

Rocco Bagley also earned his first career goal with 10:01 remaining by finishing his second 1v1 opportunity in the UNCG penalty area. A through ball from Witt Carlisle slotted the ball into the area where Bagley finished the shot past the keeper for a 4-0 Georgia Southern lead.

Less than five minutes later, UNCG scored its first goal of the evening as Preston Ford produced a header off a corner kick from Lukas Zarges that cut the Eagle advantage to 4-1.

The goal, however, did not diminish the Eagle victory, their first over UNCG since the 2008 season and just the second in 22 previous meetings. GSU finished the match with 18 shots to UNCG’s 15 attempts. The Eagles held a 10-7 advantage at the final whistle in shots on goal with each team’s goalkeepers making seven saves each.

The Eagles enter the home stretch of conference play on Saturday night with a trip to Wofford. Southern is back at home on Tuesday evening to face Furman at 7 p.m. before traveling to College of Charleston on Saturday, October 27th.

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Category: Men's Soccer

Published on Tuesday, 16 October 2012 21:34