ELON, N.C. - Georgia Southern erased a 2-1 deficit with six minutes remaining and
scored two more for good measure in the final five minutes to take a 4-2 win
over Elon on Friday night. Luigi Clendening added two goals to his season total
and sits two shy of tying the school record for single-season scoring. The
Eagles improve to 8-6-1 and 4-2-0 in league play to virtually assure GSU of a
home match in the 2011 SoCon Tournament.
"This is such a tough place
to play, to come in here and get three points is a great accomplishment," said Head
Coach Kevin Kennedy. "I feel like we put a lot of pressure on the other teams
in the league with this win and we are really excited to come back up this way
and face UNC Greensboro on Tuesday night."
Elon drew first blood in
the 11th minute with a goal by Matt Wescoe. The Eagles failed to completely
clear an Elon corner kick. The ball was sent out and volleyed back in by Nick
Millington to the head of Wescoe, who headed the ball home for a 1-0 Elon lead.
The Eagles struck back with
an equalizer just past the half hour mark. Freshman David Vargas Masís (Cartago, Costa Rica) crossed the ball back
across the face of goal. Sophomore captain Hunter
Norton (Evans, Ga.) was on hand to tap the ball across the line to level
the score at 1-1 with Norton's fourth goal of the season.
Elon, however, took the lead
again in the 55th minute when Austen King headed a free kick by Gabe Latigue
into the net. The goal, his first of the season, gave the Phoenix a 2-1 lead
with 35 minutes remaining in the match.
Senior Luigi Clendening (Augusta, Ga.) added his 12th goal of the season
in the 85th minute to level the teams at 2-2. A cross by Joe Hughes (Mooresville, N.C.) put Clendening in position.
The Eagles added a pair of
goals over the five minutes of the match to steal the victory for Georgia
Southern. Ethan LaPan (Martinez,
Ga.) recorded his third goal of the season off an assist by Norton.
Clendening added his second
goal of the night with 1:04 remaining in the match. His 13th goal of the season
accounted for the GSU a 4-2 victory.
GSU goalkeeper Ryan Platt (Preston, England) recorded
five saves on the night as Georgia Southern lead the shots race, 14-10.
The Eagles return to action
with the 2011 regular season finale against UNC Greensboro. The final regular
season match of the year starts on Tuesday, October 25th, at 7 p.m.
Fans can follow their
Eagles at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or receive short updates at
facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics or on Google+ at
gplus.to/GSAthletics.
