College of Charleston
Elon
M. Soccer Thwarted in Double OT by Elon
10/30/2014 3:03:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston men's soccer team suffered a 2-1 double overtime defeat to Elon in Colonial Athletic Association play at Patriots Point Saturday night.
CofC falls to 2-10-3 (0-5-2 CAA) before embarking on its final match of the season at Hofstra on Saturday, Nov. 1. Elon, which came into the match as the fourth CAA team CofC has faced which went to the NCAA Tournament last year and ranked No. 30 in the NCAA RPI, moves into first place in the CAA standings.
The Cougars, who took a 1-0 lead just before halftime but were forced to play the second half and overtime at a one-man disadvantage, went to overtime for the fourth time in five matches before conceding the game winner in the 106th minute.
“Again, the guys got after it and deserve so much more than this result,” said head coach Ralph Lundy. “They played their hearts out; the played nearly 60 minutes a man down, and I can't believe this is the result we are faced with again. It's a cruel game sometimes.”
CofC's goal came in the 44th minute when Cesar Murillo intercepted a ball on the defensive side of the midline and escorted it over 50 yards through the middle of the pitch before slipping a pass to Nico Rittmeyer who touched his CofC-leading fifth goal of the season into the lower right corner.
Five minutes into the second period, a dramatic encounter in front of the CofC goal granted Elon a penalty kick and saw CofC senior Troy Peterson sent off the field with a red card for an incident occurring away from the ball.
Elon's Jason Waterman's touch betrayed him as his PK attempt sailed wide left, but the hamstrung Cougars would be forced to defend their 1-0 lead down a man the rest of the way.
The Cougars managed the task admirably – and even pressed for an insurance goal on multiple occasions – but Elon cracked the defense in the 71st minute when Miguel Salazar played a bouncing ball into the box which Chad Craig emerged for and netted the equalizer.
The remainder of regulation swung wildly from end to end with both teams stretched in the midfield, but the ball stayed out of both goals to extend the match beyond 90 minutes.
After a decreasingly-paced, scoreless first overtime period, play opened back up in the second before Craig chipped a ball to six-yard spot from the top-left corner, and Waterman earned redemption for his missed PK attempt by tucking in the game winner.
Indicative of the former Southern Conference, now-CAA rivalry shared between the teams, the match played extremely physically and brought on eight cards and cautions. Statistically, the match was virtually even across the board with the margin being less-than two in shots, shots on goal, corner kicks and fouls.
Charleston concludes the regular season at Hofstra and will look to play spoiler to the Pride's regular season championship aspirations. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
