Men’s Soccer Continues SoCon Tournament Run In Semifinals Against Elon
11/7/2012 9:09:28 PM | Men's Soccer
VIDEO: SoCon Semfinals preview interview with Coach Kevin Kennedy
STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Men’s Soccer is back in action on Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2012 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament against top-seeded Elon. The match starts at 5 p.m. at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Thursday’s match can be seen live on SoConSports.com by using the league’s free video streaming service.
The Eagles were buoyed this week when Reed Norton and Drew Ruggles were both selected as second team All-SoCon. The juniors were joined on the honors list by three members of the All-Freshman Team. Rocco Bagley, Reed Norton and Eric Dinka were each named to the list of the league’s top newcomers.
Reed Norton leads the Eagles this year with five goals and three assists. Ruggles ranks second in scoring this year for GSU with three goals and four assists. Junior Witt Carlisle leads the team in shots with 45 attempts while scoring three goals.
This year’s semifinal appearance is the third under Head Coach Kevin Kennedy. In 2006 the Eagles downed Furman in the semifinals, but fell 3-0 to UNCG in the Championship Game. In 2008 GSU fell 3-2 on penalties to UNCG in the semifinals. Since then no SoCon Tournament game has gone to a penalty kick shootout.
Elon enters Thursday’s match ranked No. 23 nationally after winning the SoCon Regular Season Championship. GSU faced the Phoenix last year in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament. The Phoenix won that contest en route to taking the SoCon Tournament Championship over UNCG, 3-2.
Elon’s Chris Thomas was named SoCon Player of the Year this week while Head Coach Darren Powell was picked as Coach of the Year. Thomas scored 22 goals this year to lead the nation in scoring and setting a new school record. He has seven multi-goal games this year and helped Elon with a goal to defeat No. 18 West Virginia earlier this year.
A win will put the Eagles in the SoCon Final on Saturday night at 7 p.m. from the WakeMed Soccer Park.
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.
