College of Charleston
UNC Wilmington
CofC M. Soccer Downed at No. 25 UNCW
10/9/2014 1:52:00 AM | Men's Soccer
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The College of Charleston men's soccer team suffered a 2-0 defeat to No. 25 UNC Wilmington in Colonial Athletic Association play at the UNC Soccer Stadium on Wednesday night.
UNCW improves to 9-2-1 (2-1-0 CAA) and stands as the 26th team CofC has faced which was ranked or receiving-votes in the NSCAA Coaches Poll since the 2011 season. Charleston falls to 2-7-1 (0-2-0 CAA) with the loss.
“UNCW is a strong team,” said head coach Ralph Lundy. “We had a couple chances in the first half that we didn't capitalize on. Being on the road against a good team, you have to finish your opportunities. We will look to recover quickly as we have another tough test at Drexel on Saturday.”
The Seahawks enjoyed an attacking style of play for large portions of the opening period, but CofC tightened the screws down the stretch and dictated the latter parts of the opening period, producing multiple corner kicks and scoring opportunities in the waning moments of the half.
The Cougars' late offensive push narrowed a first-half shot deficit to 4-3 as the teams went into the locker room deadlocked at nil-nil.
With the start of the second period, the Seahawks quickly neutralized CofC's momentum, however, as they used the second half kickoff to dump the ball into their attacking end of the field where Mark Harris lobbed a ball into the box from the left flank and Jamie Dell volleyed it home for a 1-0 lead just 25 seconds into the half.
The Cougars struggled to re-establish the attack they enjoyed late in the first half, and UNCW added an insurance goal in the 74th minute when Jaco VanCompernolle inserted a long throw-in into the box and Colin Bonner headed it into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
CofC remains on the road with a trip to Drexel for another CAA competition on Saturday, Oct. 11. The Cougars and Dragons will kick off at 4 p.m.
