NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Georgia Southern Men's Soccer ran past Belmont 4-1 on Sunday to open the final afternoon of play in the 2015 Lipscomb Invitational. The Eagles scored twice early and twice late to power past the Bruins on their cross-town rival's home field. Next up for Georgia Southern is a trip to North Florida next Sunday night.
The win, combined with other results over the weekend handed the Lipscomb Invitational Championship to the Eagles. Four Eagles were named to the All-Tournament team with
Jack Falle,
Nick Wells,
Jeremy Rector and
Emmanuel Raji earning the honors.
MATCH FACTSGeorgia Southern (2-3-1) – 4
Belmont (1-6-1) - 1
SCORING12' – GS –
Nick Wells got the Eagles started in the scoring department with a 12-yard goal.
Jeremy Rector played a through ball into the box which
Emmanuel Raji played a dummy on and let the ball roll to Wells who scored.
22' – GS – Wells earned his brace just 10 minutes later when he scored an unassisted goal from six yards. He beat two Belmont defenders and struck the ball on the half-volley for the goal.
84' – BELMONT – The Bruins reduced the Eagle advantage from two to one when Rashad Hyacenth headed a corner kick across the line for a score
87' – GS –
Christian Duncan extended the lead to 3-1 with less than four minutes remaining. He cleaned up a loose rebound in the danger area, scoring from six yards.
89' – GS –
Emmanuel Raji delivered the finishing blow with 1:52 left on the clock. Wells played Raji into the box where the senior scored from eight-yards out.
NOTES- The Eagles out-shot the Bruins 14-11 with a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal.
- Wells scored his first two goals of the year and now has four for his career.
- Raji now has two goals on the season and eight for his career.
- Duncan's goal was the first of the freshman's career.
- Senior
Jack Falle made two saves to take his second win of the year in goal.
WHAT COACH KEVIN KENNEDY SAID"I'm obviously pleased with the result this afternoon. But, more importantly, I was happy with our mentality today and our commitment in the 2nd half. Belmont was very organized and caused us some problems, but we were able to create a few great opportunities and score goals at key moments. Now we need to turn our focus to recovering and preparing for a very good North Florida team next weekend."
NEXT UPThe Eagles have a week to rest before their next test, a non-conference tie with North Florida. The Eagles visit Hodges Stadium next Sunday night at 7 p.m.
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