Men's Soccer Unable to Hold on to Early Lead
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Aleksandar Tomic (Sydney, Australia) gave the Georgia Southern men's soccer team (0-9-1) a first half lead with his first goal of the season; but the Eagles were unable to hold on to the lead, falling to Gardner-Webb (6-3-1) 5-2.
The Bulldogs tied the match in the 40th minute and took a 2-1 halftime lead a minute later.
Austin Steele (Kennesaw, Ga.) responded to Gardner-Webb's offensive outburst with a goal of his own, tying the match in the 60th minute.
The Bulldogs went on to score three unanswered goals in the remainder of the second half to earn their sixth win of the season.
Both teams exchanged shots in the first seven minutes. Rich Heyer (Tupelo, Miss.) got the Georgia Southern offense started early with a shot on goal in the first minute. Joe Madigan (Centennial, Colo.) put another shot on target four minutes later to keep the pressure on the Bulldogs.
Gardner-Webb controlled the ball in the Eagles' territory in the 17th minute, recording three shots and a corner kick in a two minute period. Mike Gubosh (Evans, Ga.) made plays on two of those shots, and the defense saved the other keeping the match scoreless.
Brennan Peacock (Carrolton, Texas) put a shot on target in the 20th minute, forcing a save from Trent Kozman.
The Eagles moved the ball into the Bulldog's territory and earned a corner kick in the 33rd minute. Madigan took the kick, and Tomic delivered the goal off a header. The goal was the first of Tomic's career.
Gardner-Webb responded with two quick goals to lead 2-1 at halftime. Richie Wall tied the match in the 40th minute after the ball rebounded off the crossbar. John Sargent took the lead with a shot past the keeper in the 41st minute.
Georgia Southern went on the offensive in the 58th minute, recording three shots and two corners. Heyer forced a save by the new keeper Andrew Robinson which led to two corner kicks by Madigan. Tomic just missed his second goal of the match and hit the crossbar in the 59th minute.
A minute later, Steele took advantage of a miss-played ball in the box and put his shot in the back of the net, tying the match at two goals a piece.
Witt Carlisle (Alpharetta, Ga.) tried to give the Eagles the lead with a shot on target in the 70th minute, but Robinson came up with the save.
Gardner-Webb pulled away late in the second half, scoring three goals in the final 20 minutes.
The Eagles visit #18 N.C. State Tuesday in a non-conference match at 7 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C.
- Category: Men's Soccer
- Published on Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:32
