MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. - Georgia Southern men's soccer finished off an unbeaten opening weekend by picking up a 2-0 victory over the host College of Charleston on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point, closing out action in the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Tournament.
The Eagles improved to 2-0 on the season, the first 2-0 start for Georgia Southern men's soccer since the 2001 season. The College of Charleston fell to 0-2 on the year, and the Eagles are next in action on Friday evening, hosting Merrimack at 7 p.m. in its home opener.
Just like Friday's match against UNC Wilmington, the Eagles used quick goals in each half to set the tone in the win over the Cougars. A shot from the left side by junior Aldair Cortes rebounded to the right side of the six-yard box, where sophomore Adam Davie struck home his second goal of the season in the sixth minute for the 1-0 advantage.
The Eagles carried that one-goal lead into the break, holding a 5-2 advantage in shots over the Cougars.
Opening up the second half, junior and Aaron Olitsky Memorial Tournament MVP Alhaji Tambadu got ahold of a cross from Cortes and finished deftly in the 47th minute for the 2-0 advantage. Tambadu finished the weekend with three goals - his first three goals of his Georgia Southern career - to lead all players on the weekend and notch the MVP accolade.
"Overall, it was a great weekend," Georgia Southern Head Men's Soccer Coach John Murphy said. "Obviously, we play to win, but at this point of the season, you're looking for strong performances. I thought the performance today was even better than the one on Friday [vs. UNC Wilmington]. I thought we added a bit more quality to our work rate, and the defensive shape was much better.
"I'm very proud of Alhaji and glad he was recognized for his efforts this weekend," Coach Murphy said about the MVP honor for Tambadu. "His work rate, unselfishness and scoring touch made a big difference in two very tight games."
The Eagles limited the Cougars to just three second-half shots and finished with their first clean sheet of the year. The final shot total was 10-5 in favor of GS, and sophomore Jokull Blaengsson made a pair of saves to notch his fifth career shutout. GS had the lone corner kick of the match, and each team was offsides three times on the day.
"In my three years here, we were 0-2-1 on the second day [of opening weekend play]," Coach Murphy said. "I think when you play well in the second game, that shows that - with two games in three days - you have depth, and shows that you have quality, What i liked in the end today was that everyone was engaged about trying to get the clean sheet, which is important for us here. Clean sheets are indicative of a good team, and the guys digging in at the end was a very positive sign."
