Eagles Ousted from SoCon Tournament at Home, 1-0
11/6/2011 9:44:00 PM | Men's Soccer
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Men's Soccer led the Southern Conference in scoring throughout the 2011 season and held first place in the league for most of the campaign. The Eagles, however, were beaten by Elon in the first round of the SoCon Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field, 1-0. The loss ends the Eagles hopes of contending for the 2011 league crown as Georgia Southern finishes the season at 8-8-1.
"I'm really disappointed with the result today," said Head Coach Kevin Kennedy. "This was a team we were able to beat 4-2 in the regular season, but today the goals just weren't there. The guys battled hard, but it just wasn't enough for us today."
After a balanced first half which finished even at 0-0, Elon took the game's first goal in the 48th minute. Gabe Latigue scored his third goal of the season, getting on the end of an incisive cross from Matt Wescoe at the far post. Latigue finished with a low shot past Georgia Southern's goalkeeper.
The Eagles had a chance to grab an equalizer with nine minutes left as Thomas Valikonis (Greenville, S.C.) scored past the Elon keeper. The celebration, however, was short-lived as a Georgia Southern player was ruled offsides on the play, nullifying goal.
The Phoenix weathered a storm of late Georgia Southern shots to take the 1-0 victory and advance in the Southern Conference Tournament. Elon will face either Furman or College of Charleston in the semifinal round this Friday, November 11th, at 6:30 p.m. in Boone, N.C. at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
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.
