Established 1916

 

 

 

By Tripp Mickle
Old Gold and Black Reporter

The men's soccer team may not have reached No. 1 yet, but its 3-0 shutout of 4th-ranked Maryland Sept. 27 and its 2-0 victory over William and Mary Oct. 2 proved that they are well on their way.

The Deacs wanted to impose their game on the Terrapins and not fall into a defensive shell, Head Coach Jay Vidovich said. The team did so with early intensity that quickly paid off.

Freshman Justin Moose stripped a Maryland defender of the ball in the right corner of the 18. Moose flick-touched the ball to freshman Ryan Alexander, who beat a defender before punching the ball past the goalkeeper inside the near post.

With less than 30 seconds left on the clock and a torrential downpour underway, the Deacs won the ball in their own end and sprung forward on a counterattack. Maryland defender Seth Stammler stopped the attack by tripping sophomore James Riley in the corner of the box with six seconds showing. The referee awarded a penalty kick and cautioned Stammler. Junior Jeremiah White stepped up to the ball in the pouring rain and fired it past goalkeeper Noah Palmer to give the Deacs a 2-0 advantage at halftime.

"I thought the ref did a good job and made the right call," Vidovich said. "(Riley) was the last man attacking, and he had a goal scoring opportunity."

The Deacs returned for less rain in the second half but brought no less intensity. The team's pressure opened up another opportunity when Riley found senior Adam Hakes at the top of the 18. Hakes moved the ball into position and then ripped a shot into the far post.

Although the goal was the last of the half, the Deacs continued to push forward for more opportunities. They finished the game outshooting Maryland 13-9. The win was the Deacs' first over an opponent ranked as high in number since the team beat No. 2 Connecticut in 2000.

"We had a lot of great moments," sophomore defender Ryan Caugherty said. "We were pumped bringing in the 4th-ranked team in the country and beating them."

The Deacs struggled during the first 30 minutes of play against William and Mary Oct. 2. The team pushed forward but was unable to pick apart the Tribe defense as easily as it had Maryland.

Things opened up briefly in the 32nd minute when Hakes found White's feet inside the box. White spun around two defenders and let a shot rip on the goal. Tribe goalkeeper Trevor Upton deflected the shot to Alexander, who finished it for his fourth goal of the year. It looked like the Deacs would go ahead even more when junior Vicente Bastidas collected a loose ball in the offensive half and played it through to Hakes, who two Tribe defenders took down in the box. The referee awarded a penalty kick, but goalkeeper Upton stretched out to stop Bastidas' low shot.

The Deacs made up for the missed opportunity when the ball popped loose off junior Kelvin Jones' throw in the 82nd minute. As the ball fell through the air outside the 18, White wound up with a one-time volley that flew into the back of the net.

The goal put the Deacs up 2-0 and sealed the match in their favor.

"We weren't sharp," said Junior Will Hesmer, who was named Soccer America's national goalkeeper of the week for Sept. 23-29. "Good teams learn to fight through that though and we were able to pull out the win."

The Deacs travel to Cary to face N.C. State on Oct. 6, but will return home Oct. 11 against No. 9 South Carolina.