MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. - Georgia Southern scored in the opening 30 seconds of both halves, sparking a season-opening 4-2 collegiate men's soccer victory over UNC Wilmington on Friday afternoon at the Under Armour Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic in Mount Pleasant, S.C.
The Eagles (1-0) notched the win over the Seahawks (0-1), who were an NCAA Tournament participant a year ago, in the first meeting between the two teams. Georgia Southern will wrap up action in the Classic on Sunday, taking on the host College of Charleston at 4:30 p.m. at Patriots Point.
"It's a great result, off the back of a real gritty performance against a good team," Georgia Southern Head Coach John Murphy said. "I thought we bent an awful lot, but we never broke. They're a scary proposition going forward, and they're going to give a lot of teams a lot of problems."
The start to the season couldn't have gone any better for the Eagles as junior Aldair Cortes was taken down inside the box just 29 seconds into the match. Sophomore Adam Davie stepped up to the spot and converted the penalty kick to give Georgia Southern an early advantage.
UNC Wilmington wasted little time in drawing back even, as Gabriel Cabral bent a free kick inside the left post in the fifth minute to make the score 1-1. The match would enter halftime with that score, but the Seahawks enjoyed an 8-2 edge in shots at the break.
"I thought, particularly in wide areas, they really had a big advantage against us," Coach Murphy said. "But I give the kids a lot of credit, we made some adjustments at halftime, and the kids came out with a lot of energy and fixed it."
Just 23 seconds into the second half, junior Alhaji Tambadu took advantage of a misplay in the back, claiming the ball and beating the keeper for his first collegiate goal, reclaiming the lead for the Eagles.
Georgia Southern extended the lead to two goals in the 63rd minute as junior Cristian Medina drove into the right side of the box, then slotted a ball to sophomore Joshua Deane, who then scored his first collegiate goal to make the score 3-1.
The Seahawks again answered, this time in the 76th minute as a shot from Cannon Tootle hit the right post, kicked back out into the box where Parker Norris scored to make it a one-goal lead. Five minutes later, however, a straight red card was shown to UNC Wilmington's Wilhelm Nilsson, giving the Eagles a man advantage for the rest of the match.
Tambadu then clinched the match with his second goal of the night, coming in the 85th minute off of a rebounded shot from Jarvian Wigfall.
UNC Wilmington finished the match with a 21-8 edge in shots. Jokull Blaengsson made six saves in net for the Eagles, while Jonathan Gomes made one save for the Seahawks. UNCW also had a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.
"Even though they scored to make it 3-2 after Josh Deane's goal, I felt relatively comfortable," Coach Murphy said. "The kids were moving well and defending well. These are the games you have to find a way to win, when we're not at our best. That's a team that's gone to the NCAA Tournament multiple times, with a lot of upper class leadership. For us to come away with a result is very positive."
