No. 3 GWU Falls to No. 2 Coastal Carolina 1-0 on a Penalty Kick
November 12, 2010 | Men's Soccer
High Point, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team saw its 2010 season come to an end on Friday night, as the Runnin' Bulldogs fell to the No. 2 seeded Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 1-0 on a second half penalty kick in the semifinals of the 2010 Big South Men's Soccer Championship at High Point, N.C.
The Runnin' Bulldogs again got off to a strong start offensively in the first half, as Gardner-Webb fired off five shots compared to Coastal Carolina's zero in the first 15 minutes of play.
GWU's Chris Davis had a shot blocked by a Chanticleer defender in the sixth minute, while sophomore midfielder John Sargent had a shot stopped by Coastal Carolina's goalkeeper Scott Angevine in the ninth minute to keep the match scoreless early.
The next three Gardner-Webb shots, one each off the foot from freshman Nicolas Wrobel, Davis and freshman Stephen Maxwell, all sailed wide, as the Runnin' Bulldogs failed to capitalize on its early scoring opportunities.
However, the Chanticleers controlled the ball and the pace of play for the remaining 30 minutes of the opening half, posting eight shots to GWU's zero during that span, keeping the Gardner-Webb defense and goalkeeper Adam Garcia on its toes until the halftime break.
GWU's Garcia came up big with four big saves in the opening half of play, stopping a Ross Kelly header in the 16th minute, an Austin Eanes shot in the 20th minute and again in the 23rd minute to keep the score at 0-0 at the half.
After an early GWU shot in the 50th minute mark was saved by Coastal Carolina's Angevine, the Chanticleers picked up where it left off in the first half, putting the Runnin' Bulldogs defense back on its heels over the next 10 minutes, firing off six shots, two of which were stopped by Garcia and one blocked by a GWU defender.
However, in the 69th minute, a Gardner-Webb defender was called for a handball in the 18-yard box, as he kept the ball from going into the goal and not allowing the Chanticleers to score, which in return gave Coastal Carolina a penalty kick opportunity.
On the penalty kick, the Chanticleers' Pedro Ribeiro made good on the attempt, scoring his sixth goal of the season and putting Coastal Carolina up 1-0 in the 69th minute.
The Runnin' Bulldogs, who had to play a man down due to a red card issued on the handball foul, battled the Chanticleers to the end, as Sargent had three shots in the final 20 minutes of play, but couldn't get that game tying goal as Coastal Carolina escaped with a 1-0 win to advance to the championship game on Sunday.
For the match, Coastal Carolina outshot Gardner-Webb 19-10 overall, while the Chanticleers put eight shots on goal compared to the Runnin' Bulldogs two.
Garcia was tested all night, as the junior goalkeeper posted seven saves and only the one goal on a penalty kick on 19 Coastal Carolina shots.
Gardner-Webb (8-11) had a strong season in which the Runnin' Bulldogs posted seven shutouts on the year and matched last year's win total of eight wins, tying the most since the 2006 season in which the Runnin' Bulldogs won nine games and the Atlantic Sun Championship tournament.
QUOTES
Coastal Carolina Head Coach Shaun Docking: "I am very pleased with the outcome of the match and am excited to be playing in the finals on Sunday. I am proud of the way our players battled. The win is a testament to our seniors and Sunday's finals will be an exciting match."
Gardner-Webb Head Coach Tony Setzer: "Hats off to Coastal Carolina they played well. Our players fought hard. We were happy to be in the semifinals and I thought our team played well. It was unfortunate to go down a man, but our players battled back and I am very proud of them."
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| Box Score: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 1, No. 3 Gardner-Webb 0 |
