College of Charleston
Georgia State
CofC M. Soccer Handles Georgia State
9/6/2014 3:29:00 AM | Men's Soccer
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The College of Charleston men's soccer team was victorious over Georgia State in the opener to the Diadora/Spinx Gray Griffin Memorial Tournament hosted by Furman on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium on Friday evening.
Charleston (1-2-0) earned the 2-0 victory behind goals from Tucker Coons and Nico Rittmeyer with assists credited to Erik Clark and Daan Brinkman on the night.
The Cougars were more authoritative and possessive in the affair, earning an 18-13 shot advantage and forcing the Panthers to commit 15 fouls as they chased the match. The Cougars, meanwhile, played a disciplined brand of soccer and limited themselves to six infractions.
The early minutes of the match went end to end with the teams exchanging opportunities, but CofC capitalized on one in the 23rd minute after Tanner Clay's shot on target earned CofC a corner kick. Clark swung the ball into the box and Coons capitalized on his long frame to head the ball into the net.
The Cougar defense stifled any Panther attempts at an equalizer – thanks in part to eight saves by Brian Kilgallon in the contest – until a 76th minute equalizer helped to sure up the result.
Brinkman found some space and pushed up the right wing before swinging a centering feed into the box, and Rittmeyer one-touched the ball into the back of the net for the Cougar insurance marker.
Clark led the Cougars with four shot attempts, but Charleston displayed a balanced attack with seven players attempting shots.
The Cougars will look to string wins together and vie for the Gray Griffin Memorial crown against North Florida on Sunday, Sept. 7. The Cougars and Ospreys are set to kick at 1 p.m.
The tournament is named in honor of former Paladin defender and United States Under-17 National Team captain, Gray Griffin, who was killed in a traffic accident in October of 2002 during his freshman year at Furman.
%20(1).png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
